Her New World

By Leviticus

STARTING:

1.

“Anna, please leave the room,” ordered Doctor Don Kelly.

Anna, Kelly’s best and most experience nurse, looked nervously at the men in the office before turning for the door. Alan Kent she had been happy to see, she had known him for a long time and it was because of her, not her Master that she had been able to come on the trip.

“We need all the experienced medical personal we can get, and I trust you!” had been his pitch. And it worked. Anna was thrilled to be a part of what she thought of as mankind’s greatest leap forward, and she knew she could do the job for basically only a real medical degree stopped her from being called a doctor in her own right. Kent and Kelly didn’t just want someone who could empty bedpans when they sought out the members of Kelly’s staff. So they succeeded in pulling together a group of people whose combined medical expertise far outweighed their small number.

This made Anna one of the rare women in the Colony, a woman who was both a submissive and yet empowered with a great deal of specialized expertise and responsibility. It was a dual role she knew she could handle, if allowed. But it was a little harder when some people were around. Men like Dick Janis for example; she didn’t know what it was about that man, she hardly knew him beyond what was in his medical file, but when near him she felt all her defenses go up and she lost the confidence she needed to do her job. Instead, she became very submissive and it wasn’t because of him pushing her normal submissive buttons, of that she was sure. She had a sneaking suspicion, when she allowed herself to think about it at all, that it was simply because something about the man scared her silly.

That was why she was nervous now. Not only was Kent visiting the Doctor, having walked over directly from the last shuttle flight down from the Mayflower, but also Janis.

“Yes, Doctor,” Anna replied, avoiding Janis’ eyes, knowing that he was looking at her. She moved to open the door but Janis was already there, his hand on the door handle. He smiled at her.

“You know, you look great in that nurse’s uniform,” he said to her.

“Er…thanks,” Anna answered, glancing at her boss for a bit of support, but was disappointed to see that the doctor just sat and watched them.

“I’ve always had a thing for nurses,” continued Janis, “you know, the whole virgin-white uniform thing. Almost like a bride. It’s a lot of fun playing doctor and nurse. You ever try it?” His grin got a little broader and he looked over at Kelly as if to imply that Anna and the Doctor had a little fun together. Anna’s face went white, and again she looked over at Kelly. But it was Kent who turned and scowled.

“Let her go, Dick. I’m sure she has work to do and I don’t want to spend all day here. It’s been a long one already.”

Janis looked at Kent and shrugged, before turning back to Anna. “You and me ought to get together sometime to play out a few fantasies of mine.” He smiled and opened the door, letting the scared woman out of the room before closing it again.

Kent took a seat at Kelly’s desk where Kelly was already sitting, while Janis stood with his arms folded. His thin smile, put there for the benefit of the nurse, faded to something a little more unpleasant.

Kelly watched him nervously, but he knew why he was scared of Dick Janis. “I’d appreciate it if you kept away from my staff, Mr. Janis,” the doctor said quietly, “you never know when you might need their professional help and it wouldn’t do to antagonize them.”

“Antagonize them?” Janis said in amazement. “I was just offering to have a little fun with her.”

“I don’t think her husband would be very happy about that,” replied the doctor.

“I don’t give a crap about her husband. If he had any balls he would take her out of here and treat her like the fucktoy she is. It’s a crime letting women have positions of authority like that!”

Kent snorted, “Yes, Dick, we all know your views on the matter. And while I agree with you I also know there are exceptions to every rule. Anna and Kelly’s other female medical staff members are off limits to you. I want them happy and able to work, just in case as the good doctor says, we need their professional help ourselves.”

Janis sneered a little before replying, “Does that include our genetic enhancements for the female population?”

Kelly’s face went a little whiter while Kent merely sighed, “That is the question, isn’t it? One we have talked about before on Earth.”

“NO!” said the doctor strongly. “Do what you must to the other women, but not to Anna and my staff. I need them to be the best at what they do. Dammit, isn’t that why you brought her here?”

Kent nodded. “You have a point, Doctor,” he said.

Janis moved forward angrily, “We don’t need her. We don’t need any of the women you’ve brought here for their skilled labor; at least not later after we have settled down and gotten our bearings. Face it guys, the women are only here to do two things, serve us and have babies, and they don’t need much of a brain to do either! Kelly’s genetic brain enhancements won’t even begin to really take affect for months, so if we begin now we’ll still get some useful work out of them for a while before we begin their real training!”

“No. No!” said the doctor, standing up. “You’re mad! What you are proposing for me do aren’t enhancements! You want me to genetically alter their brains so that they lose their intelligence! That’s hardly an enhancement!”

“Enhance means to make better, right? Well making the women dumber so that they are easier to train as proper slaves seems better to me!” Janis said with a grin.

Kelly’s face looked grim, “We’ll be destroying their minds, taking away their ability to properly think for themselves.”

“You make it sound better and better, Doc!” Janis replied, leaning across the desk.

Kent raised a hand. “Gentlemen! Please.” He waited until Janis moved back before continuing. “I doubt very much that things will be taken to that extreme, Doctor, and it is up to you to see to that. But I do want a certain…edge…taken off the women so that they can more happily adjust to their position here as a second class. We both know that this big experiment of ours could go up in smoke at any moment if any of the women decide they no longer wish to be submissive anymore. Your adjustments will help them maintain their level of submission by taking away any real thought of wanting anything else!”

Kelly looked a little stunned. “I’m surprised, Alan, that you would be a party to this. Even now I find it hard to believe that you asked me to look into whether the changes were possible at all. And when I told you they were, I didn’t expect you’d want me to actually do it.”

Janis snarled, “But you’re going to do it, aren’t you Doctor!”

Kelly’s face paled, “Of course I am; I have no choice.”

“That’s right, Doc, you have no choice. Not if you want your wife and daughter to remain intact.”

Kelly seemed to lose his strength and he found his seat again while Kent stood, pulling on a pair of gloves.

“I’m sure that Doctor Kelly knows what is at stake, Dick,” he said, “besides, I only really stopped in now to give him the go ahead to proceed. I know he will cooperate.”

“What about my staff?” Kelly whispered.

Kent paused, thinking, “Leave them untouched for now. But every other woman, especially Staci Mann, will undergo treatment. When can you start?”

“When…when we can drum up a suitable excuse for the weekly genetic treatments such a radical change in brain chemistry is going to need.”

Kent nodded, “Very well then. Come on Dick, let’s head over to my home and unpack my wife.”

Janis smiled, “I’ll be along shortly. I need to ask the Doc here a couple of personal medical questions first.”

“Oh, very well. I’ll see you soon then.”

Janis nodded and waited for his boss to leave before moving to take the seat Kent had vacated. He put both feet on Kelly’s desk and leaned back.

“Okay, Doc. Now let’s talk about the other changes I want you to make!”

2.

Staci Mann lay on her front on the bed, still nude, still bound hand and foot as she was when carried in this humiliating position from the shuttle to his apartment in one of the landed buildings. Her skin was still slightly wet from the rain that she could hear drumming against the side of the building, and she felt slightly chilled because of it. She flexed her muscles and tried once more to find some give in the ropes that bound her, but they held her too well and she had to groan into her gag.

She was afraid of what was going to happen to her, afraid that now they were on the planet for good that she would be raped. She didn't like feeling so helpless, so out of control of her own destiny. Ever since she was a little girl and first decided to go into space, she had guided her own life, working hard to make a place for herself in the community of astronauts she had come to love. She had earned every step she had taken in her own right and was proud of her achievements. But now it looked like she was to be deprived of all that she had built, subjected now to the will of another. Helpless.

A noise from the apartment's bathroom made her look over her shoulder. He was in there, Bob, her so-called owner. He was drying off from the rain and Staci wondered what he planned on doing next.

Bob McKinly stepped out of the bathroom toweling his hair dry. He’d changed out of his ship's jumpsuit into a pair of denim jeans, but he hadn't bothered to put a shirt on. As he worked the towel he looked at Staci, as if examining her.

Staci began to blush under his gaze, aware of her nudity but unable to do anything about it. She’d also noticed the mass of hair on his bare chest, something she found to be a turn-on in her men. In the back of her mind she wished he didn't have it.

Bob dropped the towel on the floor and approached the bed, making Staci pull back. He knelt beside her on the mattress and undid the strap that held her gag in, pulling the invader out of her mouth. He made no move to remove any of her other restraints.

"Any pains?" he asked simply.

"My...my arms...Master," she said, adding the last word out of habit and suddenly realizing it. She vowed not to repeat her mistake. She didn't want to be trained.

Bob nodded and undid the rope pulling her elbows together, giving her a great deal of relief. He began to massage her arms and back, letting his hands travel where they chose.

Staci shivered under his touch, but couldn't argue with how well he eased her stiff muscles. She lay quietly as he worked, listening to the rain and to his breathing. When he began undoing her ankles, Staci felt comfortable enough to ask him something.

"Are you going to rape me now?" she asked.

"You've asked me that before," Bob responded. "Did I rape you then?"

"No," Staci replied quietly.

"Well, then what makes you think I'm going to now?"

She looked over her shoulder at him. "What else would you do with a sex slave?" she asked bitterly.

Bob stopped what he was doing. "You'd be surprised. But, I'll tell you something. I'm not going to rape you, because I can wait. I can wait for you to come to me and ask."

"That, will never happen!" Staci said firmly.

Bob just chuckled, "Maybe, but I wouldn't put money on it. Still, I can understand why you don’t believe me right now. Come on, sit up."

He helped her up to a sitting position, her wrists still bound, and then helped her to her feet.

"What's going on?" she asked, afraid.

"What's going on, Sir!" he corrected. "I don't want to use your collar to train you, but I will if I have to. It'll be easier on you if you just remembered yourself." He took both her shoulders in her hands and looked at her. "Sir, or Master, I don't mind which. But you will show respect. Understood?"

"Respect has to be earned," Staci said quietly.

Bob sighed, "I was going to give you a relaxing bath, let you out of those ropes, treat you like a proper human being for a while. But it seems to me that if you think I need to earn your respect first, then that is what I should do!"

He reached around and gripped her by the hair and started pushing her toward the door.

Staci tried to dig in with her feet but the man was simply too strong for her. He bent her over so she had no leverage and hurried her through the living room of his apartment and out the door. Down some stairs next to a small elevator a small hallway led to the now unsealed side door of the building and through this they went out into the rain.

The lichen-covered ground had been churned into mud by this time and the two of them proceeded barefoot to the corner of the building where Bob pulled her to a stop.

He grabbed the rope trailing from her wrists that had once been around her elbows and pulled up, tying it high to a U-bolt on the side of the building, a former tether point for EVA's while the pod was in space. Now it performed a similar function, tethering Staci to this one spot, arms stretched painfully up behind her, forcing her to bend forward.

Then, without warning, he started to spank her out-thrust buttocks. He swatted her hard and fast for a full minute, quickly raising a fire in her behind. Through it all, Staci screamed and wriggled, but she couldn't get away from his hand, and when he stopped she just stood there out of breath, panting.

"I'll be back later and we'll see how much you respect me then. Collar, gag on!" he said, and he left her.

"Gag mode, on," repeated the device.

Staci was shocked. She couldn't believe he would just leave her out here in the rain, naked and helpless. She almost called out for him to stop but bit her lip. She knew his price for his rescue, and she didn't want to pay it. It was one thing to be forced to say something because of the collar, but another to just agree to do it through her own free will. Still, she was now stuck in a very humiliating position and unable to do anything about it.

To make matters worse, she wasn't alone. People were going by all the time, new members of the community recently wakened from their hibernation. Staci had never seen most of them before, and of course they were all curious about this new girl who was obviously being punished, although few approached her. It appalled Staci that some of these people had just seen her being spanked naked in the rain, but she was unable to hide her shame, or even the evidence of the spanking, for her ass was a bright red.

A couple of the men took advantage of her position to cup her hanging breasts and run hands down her wet sides. Staci tried to protest this once and almost fell over while suffering a two second shock from the collar. Other men simply came close to look at her before moving on, while the women Staci saw kept their distance. At least they looked sympathetic for the most part, although a few of them smiled as well.

At one point, trying to ignore her shame, Staci wondered why all these people were out in the rain. But she was unaware of the work that had yet to be done to make the Colony livable. Rain or not, many of the Quonset-sized buildings had to be cleared of their supplies so that people could live in them. Water and power had to be run out to each building to take over from the limited internal supplies of each. Although each building's internal life support systems would provide electricity and water for at least another couple of weeks, they needed to make permanent connections. Prefab buildings had to be put up as the highly concentrated colony supplies and people expanded like a balloon. Little space had been wasted in the pods during the journey, but that space was now needed by the waking members of the community for living and working.

So Staci got to be the main attraction for one of the busiest pathways in the Colony at that moment. Even Alan Kent came by to see what the fuss was about, and he went away laughing upon seeing her red butt. Staci's worst moment though was when Dick Janis showed up.

He was test driving one of the newly unpacked 4x4's and when he saw the nude girl he couldn't resist stopping. He got out, a grin on his face, and approached her.

"Well, well. Looks like you've managed to piss Bob off already, cunt!" he said, running his hands over her and caressing her hot behind.

Staci tried to wriggle free but there really was no place for her to go. Janis pushed a hand between her legs and began to force a finger inside her.

Staci started to squeal but a louder voice made Janis pause.

"I'd appreciate it if you left my goods alone!" said Bob, now in a rain slicker and watching from the building’s doorway.

Janis turned to face him and took his hand away, but not before giving Staci's clitoris a hard pinch, making her squeal again. "If you don't want your toys played with, you shouldn't leave them out where anyone can get them, Bob!" he said.

"She's out here for discipline, not abuse. But then, I doubt you can tell the difference," Bob said angrily.

Janis just grinned, not about to be baited. He slapped Staci's ass once, bringing back the sting that the cool rain had dulled, and then headed back to his vehicle.

"You're too soft on her, Bob!" he yelled. "A few stripes from your whip and she'll do what you want. I was told you were good with a whip...once!"

"Just get the fuck out of here," Bob replied in disgust.

Janis shrugged and drove off.

Staci watched the exchange through her pain and was honestly glad that Bob had showed up at that point. She looked up at him and pleaded with her eyes for release.

"Collar, gag off," he ordered, and the collar confirmed the order. "Okay, Staci, do you want to stay out here some more? We can go on all night if we have to.”

"No, Sir," Staci said after the briefest of hesitations.

Bob didn't smile, but he did undo the ropes holding her to the building, letting her arms down slowly. He helped her back through the mud into the building, where he wiped her feet with a towel before walking her upstairs to his apartment. He guided her straight through the kitchen and into the bathroom. Staci was surprised to see that it contained a tub, a real, large, contoured, Jacuzzi tub. It was filled with water and the jets were on. To Staci, it looked like heaven.

Bob stepped up close to her and took hold of her bound wrists. "I want to ask you something, Staci," he whispered. "I want to ask you if we are going to keep going through this. I don't like to punish, but as you have seen I will if its needed. It could just be a soft punishment like what you just went through, or I could have let Janis have his way with you. That depends on your behavior. You might think you have no control in your life anymore, but that really isn't true. You control the one thing that really counts, the quality of your own life. Do things my way, behave, and show the respect that is due me and everyone in this colony, and your quality of life will be greatly improved. But fuck about and continue to defy us and you will end up living outside on a chain, like a dog, fucking Dick Janis regularly...and that's a good day. I'm not trying to frighten you, I'm just trying to impress upon you the decision you need to make here. But for now, your decision is simple. Do you promise to behave tonight and not cause me any grief? If you do, you'll get a nice bath, a good dinner, maybe even a nice massage if I'm in the mood, and a soft bed to sleep in before we start work in the morning. If you can’t promise me, on your honor, then you will spend an uncomfortable night tied tightly in a ball here on the hard bathroom floor with no dinner. What's it to be?"

Staci looked at the running Jacuzzi. She was tired, hungry and hurting. What he wanted from her, tonight at least, seemed so little to pay for what he was offering...almost.

She swallowed. "I'll...not ask you for sex, Sir," she said.

"I'm not expecting you to...tonight," Bob replied.

"Okay...then...I'll take the bath, Sir." said Staci.

"Good girl," Bob said, warmth in his voice. He began undoing the rope about her wrists and soon they were free. He helped her into the tub and she sank slowly into the water with a sigh, careful of her bruised posterior. The jets felt amazing and she almost laughed with the pleasure as she closed her eyes and relaxed.

Watching her, Bob smiled, and began taking off his own wet things. He stepped into the tub himself, making Staci open her eyes.

"No," he said gently, "keep them closed. Let me do the work."

To Staci's surprise, he began to wash her, taking her arms and legs and soaping them up. She nervously endured his actions until the combination of the warm water jets and his own ministrations soothed her fears. He was actually quite gentle, and the only time she grew concerned was when he applied as much cleaning attention to her crotch as he had the rest of her body.

She was confused though, for again this didn't fit with her ideas of what a Master/slave relationship should have been. Wasn't she supposed to be the one washing him? Everything she had ever heard...no...assumed...told her that this was wrong. This was not the way it was supposed to be. Staci wondered if in fact her own prejudices and misconceptions were getting in the way of her understanding of what these people were really all about. But she couldn't ignore Dick Janis and his attitudes toward her treatment. The dark side he represented kept her from believing in the relatively kinder actions of Bob McKinly and the others. However, her quandary over proper slave behavior was rectified when Bob was done washing her, for he then turned the sponge over to her.

Hesitant at first, Staci wondered if she was going to do it, but images of being tied into a ball on the floor for the night were not pleasant. Besides, it wasn't any more than she had done for a few of the men in her life. So with a mental shrug she began to wash Bob McKinly.

As he was being given his bath, Bob settled back and watched the beautiful blonde move through the water. She had always been able to move gracefully in zero-g, and her movement in the water also showed that grace. She looked quite lovely as she performed her task, and he was happy that he hadn't had to resort to torturing her on her first night. Bob much preferred using the carrot than the stick, although what he had told her was true, he would use the stick if he had to.

"Can I ask a question, Sir?" Staci asked after something said earlier finally registered.

"Sure, anytime," he answered.

"What Janis said about whips, and how you used to use them. Is that true?" she asked, looking him in the face.

Bob nodded slowly, "Yes, it's true. But again, you're looking at it out of context. You probably only think of a whip as an instrument of punishment, or torture, but it isn't just that."

Staci looked away, obviously not believing him. The pain in her ass certainly wasn't a turn-on for her, although it had now died to a gentle buzz that did keep her quite aware of her lower regions. She shook her head and started work on his other leg, her hands coming very close to his crotch.

Bob chuckled. "You don't believe me do you? Well, again I don't expect you to right now. But in the right hands, and with the right...recipient...a bullwhip turns from an item of torture to one of extreme pleasure. For those who find the line between pain and pleasure a somewhat mixed one, I can give enormous satisfaction. You know Laslo's girl, Lynn. She likes the whip. Maybe he'll let me give you a demonstration sometime."

Staci opened her eyes wide in surprise. "Lynn likes to get whipped...Sir?" she added after a look from Bob.

"Yes. You should talk to her about it. In fact, you should talk to as many of the women here as you can. They can tell you so much more than I can about what is expected of you, and what you can expect in return. I think you might have an easier time believing them than me."

"Maybe, Sir," she said, moving past his legs and washing his sides. She had to partially straddle him in the tub because of the way he was laying, and she was very aware of how close their naked bodies were to each other. She tried not to look down.

Bob grinned, also well aware of what was going on. This was why he had arranged this little bath time ritual. He meant it when he said he wasn't going to force himself on her, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to engineer moments of sexual tension between them. Her breathing and her hard nipples were testament to it working at the moment. Bob had read her medical report, there were no secrets between Master and slave, and he knew she had been fairly sexually active. It was a tool he could use against her. His motives though, really were pure. He had to bring her round or she would never be happy here, and to do it he needed to use every trick in the book. He had no qualms about manipulating her, because it was the only chance she had to see that things were not so bad after all. So smiling, he lay back and surrendered to her hands.

Later, they toweled off together, Staci trying not to look at him while he looked openly at her, and then Staci was a little put out when Bob ordered her to drain the tub and clean up the bathroom before coming out.

"Life isn't all bubble baths and massages, slave girl," he said with an amused look in his eye. "Consider this a normal duty for you from now on."

"Yes, Sir," she said with gritted teeth.

Bob chuckled and left her to her work.

When she came out, she found him in the living room dressed in a robe. It was a large apartment, and Staci knew it was the only one in this building which made her wonder why he had chosen to live on the top floor of the Colony’s future Recreation building. She looked around the sparsely-decorated room and saw nothing but still-packed boxes and a few bare pieces of furniture, while in one corner was an empty hibernation unit looking very out of place. But there was nothing for her to wear.

Bob noticed her searching glances and took note. He raised a glass he was holding. "I opened some wine, there's a glass for you on the counter. I thought we could celebrate our arrival." He took a sip. "It aged rather nicely on the flight."

Staci obediently padded over to the tiny kitchen counter and picked up her glass. She was uncomfortable again, not so much because she was nude, but because Bob was acting so normal. She thought about her plan to try to use him to get free, but in person he didn't seem like the kind of man who let himself get used.

She held the glass in both hands, covering her breasts with her arms.

"To the Mayflower," he said, raising his glass.

Staci echoed the toast and they both drank. She realized he was right, the wine was very good. She heard a ping and Staci saw that the food slot had been running.

"Get that will you?" Bob asked.

"Yes, Sir," Staci replied. It all felt somewhat surreal, going through the motions of this little domestic situation while nude except for an irremovable collar about her throat and bands on her wrists and ankles. The whole thing made her nervous because she didn't know what to expect. Her...maybe wrong...views, of what this lifestyle was all about, were in disarray. Any second she expected Bob to suddenly jump her and abuse her like Janis did. His behavior didn't make sense.

She got another surprise when she saw him setting a place at the table...one place. Even though there was food here for two of them. But he smiled when she brought the food over to him, a basic pasta and vegetable dish.

"This looks good, but I'll be glad when we are eating off the land," he said, settling down in his seat.

"Do you think we will, Sir?" Staci asked him, moving to the other chair.

Bob stopped her., "No, not there. Kneel beside me."

She looked at him as if he was crazy. "What?"

He looked directly at her, his smile gone. He didn't say another word, he just pointed at the floor. His smile came back when she obeyed. "Good girl. Another rule to remember: you don't use any furniture unless I say you can."

"Yes Sir," she said, wondering why and looking at the food. Of course she realized why a second later. Furniture wasn't for slaves, only the floor was good enough for them. It kept them in their place. But why only one setting at the table?

She found out when he offered her a fork of food. She reached up to take it but he pulled it away.

"No. No hands. Just take the food," he said gently.

Staci looked dubious, but she took the food into her mouth. It was good, and she was hungry. The day had been a busy one and she didn't remember the last good meal she had eaten. It was a little humiliating eating this way, but she restrained herself and took in every offered morsel. If this was the price she had to pay for some peace, she could do it.

As they ate, Bob began to talk. "I suppose I should fill you in on our plans, since you missed the colony briefings on Earth. Right now, as you have possibly guessed, there is a lot of work to do setting up the basic infrastructure. We all have our permanent jobs to do here, but they are all, for the most part, suspended until we get organized." He pointed at the hibernation unit. "All of those have to be removed, as well as everything else that doesn't belong, and relocated. They're going to bury one of the pods in a big hole in a few days and move this building on top of it, at least that's the plan, and all the hibernation units will go in there. That's going to be the colony bolt hole. If something comes up, something big that threatens the colony's survival, then we use that as an emergency shelter. If it looks like something we can’t survive by waiting, then everyone goes into hibernation for a while, even if we have to stay there until the next ship from Earth comes along. It's a last resort option though, you understand." Bob looked concerned.

"Yes, Sir. Sounds like a good plan really," Staci said honestly.

"Better of two evils I believe," Bob said. "But our immediate concerns are this: Kent gave us this night off to...get acquainted, and also to give us a bit of a rest. But tomorrow we both go to work. I believe you're going to be on one of the hibernation unit removal crews with me, but I'll have to check on that. Later though, you'll be working the job Maxine would have taken."

"What's that, Sir?" she asked as he chewed on a fork full of pasta.

"You're going to be working in the maintenance department, keeping all the equipment up. Your skills are valuable; we don't want them to go to waste. Can you handle that?"

Staci was actually rather relieved, and it showed on her face. "Sure. I'm glad. I'm happy that I won’t be...well...I thought you would have other plans for me."

Bob chuckled. "What? Did you think I'd keep you chained up here all the time? Coming home to ravish you on my lunch break but otherwise letting you suffer?"

Her expression betrayed her and he chuckled. "Slave girl, if only that were true. But there is far too much to do to waste a skilled pair of hands and a good brain. Maybe, in our old age, with our kids running things, we'll have time for that little fantasy."

Staci suddenly looked concerned. "Kids?"

The phone rang and Bob went to get it. "Hey," he said, "What, now?...sure...sure...okay. We'll be there." He put down the phone. "Seems we won’t be spending the evening in after all. Alan has called a community meeting, our first. I didn't think everyone had wakened yet, but I guess they have. Maybe now we will find out what he plans to call this planet!" he said with a grin.

Staci didn't smile, she looked rather worried. "Do I...do I have to go...naked?"

Bob looked at her, nude, on her knees, her hair still damp from the bath. She looked beautiful and he was sorely tempted to leave her naked. But, he had to stick to his plan which meant giving her carrots, or in this case something to wear, something he could always take away later if need be.

"No, I'll get you something to wear. But remember our agreement. You do as you're told and behave. Maybe if you listen you'll discover something."

Staci nodded, relieved. "Yes, Sir."

3.

It had stopped raining at least, although the air was chilly, and through the rapidly breaking clouds Staci could see stars. She automatically looked for familiar constellations knowing from a star survey she had done before leaving the Mayflower that a few of Earth’s constellations could still be made out here, their positions relatively unchanged despite traveling eight light years. She had also picked out a couple of new ones as she built the planet’s first official star chart of the night sky, and she looked for the cross that pointed the way to this world’s north star. She couldn’t see it though and the unfamiliar mass of what she could see reminded her that it was an alien sky and they were on an alien world.

She looked down as she walked beside Bob and thought that alien or not, mud was still mud and it was still messy. She knew that she would have to wash her feet again. She just hoped that her dress didn't get into it, for Bob had strongly hinted that it wasn't to get dirty.

Dress. Well, it could have been called that, but it was actually a sarong like the one Lynn had worn earlier, only Staci's was a deep topaz. It wrapped around her several times before being tied at the waist, and covered up everything that needed covering. But Staci hoped that the light in the empty heavy equipment building where they were all heading wasn't bright, because the material was sheer enough for her to show through. But on further thought Staci figured that her modesty was something she was going to have to forget about, if past events were a judge.

Bob himself had pulled on a shirt, jacket and boots, and he looked good to Staci. Again she wished he didn't, because her life was hard enough.

They stepped carefully around a large puddle and Staci grabbed the back of her dress and pulled it up. The back was all she could grab because Bob had locked her wrist cuffs together. She had asked him why and he said, "Because I want to, because I can, and because I think you look lovely that way."

His look was so earnest that Staci didn't know whether to blush or be annoyed about the bondage. Everything that had happened that evening in the apartment had gone against what she thought she knew. The bath, the meal...this dress. Only the fact that Bob kept making it clear to her that he was firmly in charge reminded her that she was still a captive. But she was tired of fighting, it hadn't gotten her anywhere anyway. Now her strategy was just to go along as much as she could until an opening presented itself.

The closer they got to their destination, the more people there were and many looked at Bob and Staci with interest.

Staci remembered several of the faces from her experience bound naked outside their building, and she blushed and tried to look the other way. But Bob occasionally stopped to talk to people, accepting thanks from some for being their captain for the trip here.

Some were obviously fishing for introductions to the girl he had with him. But all Bob would say was "This is Staci."

This got under Staci's skin as he was thanked while she was pretty much dismissed. She would have said something about it but she was collar-gagged. So she just stood there giving the impression of meekness while Bob took all the praise.

That didn't stop her from looking at everyone though, especially the other women. According to Bob, all the women here were supposed to be submissive to their men, but some of them walked arm in arm with the men and appeared to have equality. There were some who walked behind the men, and some were even in some form of bondage like Staci was, and one or two were led on leashes. Some of the men had two women with them, a couple had three, and Staci remembered that there were more women here than men. All were in various dress from basic normal clothing to strange rubber outfits to costumes right out of some Arab epic. Staci didn't feel near as conspicuous in her outfit when she compared it to some of the things the other women were wearing.

As they walked or stood still, Staci tried to catch the eyes of the women around her, and was successful enough to get a few smiles in return. One thing Staci didn't see were panicked looks or non-verbal warnings. These women didn't look to her like they were in trouble. Like Lynn, they seemed quite happy. It was something for Staci to think about.

They eventually entered through the big doors of the building and the noise of most of the colonists gathered together and talking was quite loud. As she was led through them Staci gathered that this was the first real time the entire group had been as one, having arrived at the ship in Earth orbit from all over the globe. Friends were greeting friends; some of them had never seen each other before except online, which seemed odd to Staci.

A commotion over on one side drew her attention though, and what she saw shocked her. Dick Janis had entered the room.

Now she knew that Janis had brought along a couple of women for he had bragged about it enough while aboard the Mayflower. But it hadn't prepared her for the reality of the situation and she stood with her mouth wide open in amazed horror.

Dragging Dick Janis in on a cart were two very well muscled, very well endowed women, both with bright purple hair. She couldn't see their faces because their heads were encased inside solid-looking fiberglass hoods, with only their hair coming out of a hole at the top. Other than that, and various straps binding their arms behind them and connecting them to the cart, they were completely naked. Visible were their huge breasts, their nipples pierced with large rings, with chains attached that ran down to a further large ring piercing what could only have been their clits. Visible were the twin dildos that impaled the women both front and rear, the dildos themselves mounted on a bar connected to the cart, so every movement of the cart was felt deep inside them. Also visible were the scars and welts left by the huge whip Janis brandished, a grin on his face. He cracked the whip causing the two women to come to a stop, chests heaving.

Staci was stunned and she could see that she wasn't the only one. The image disturbed many of the men around her and more of the women. Even the good Doctor Kelly looked horrified, and she heard him gasp from half way across the room before watching him leave. Some men however walked over to the sweating pony girls, as she was eventually to know them, and openly admired them, talking about them like they were real horses.

Staci could see that Janis enjoyed the praise, and she wondered what Bob thought of all this. She caught him looking at Janis' rig with interest, and her heart sank.

"Come on," he said, and he led her closer even though she didn't want to go.

The two faceless women had calmed down a little from their run and now stood silently, enduring the occasional prod and poke from the interested men. Bob's expression was one of mixed interest and concern, and Staci saw him wince when he examined a rather nasty-looking scar on the side of one of the girls. But when Janis approached him, he perked up his interest level.

"See something you like, Bob?" Janis said with a grin, which he turned on Staci, making her stomach flip.

"Interesting rig, Dick," Bob said, looking at the cart. "You build it yourself?"

"Sure did, and already taking orders."

"Well...add me to your customer list," Bob said, stealing a sidelong glance at Staci. The bound woman looked up in surprise, making Janis laugh.

"I don't think she likes the idea of being a pony girl, Bob," he said with a leer.

"She's an athlete and in good condition. She'll need a workout of some kind. Besides, pony training is good discipline."

"I'll be glad to take her out any time you like. Give her the basics as it were," Janis said, swinging the nasty looking whip coiled in one hand.

This really scared Staci, and she actually edged toward Bob.

Bob saw this and inwardly smiled, it was what he had been after by having this little conversation. He didn't like Dick Janis at all really, although he could fake getting along with the man pretty good. But he knew he could use the man to help train Staci, simply by making Staci think Janis was going to use her. Staci, in coming closer to Bob for protection, was showing Bob that her dependence on him was getting deeper. He was pleased.

He smiled, "Well, Dick, I thank you for the offer. But looking at your girls I think you drive them rather harder than I would like. You have a heavy hand with your whip."

"Only way to really train them, Bob. You have to beat it into them at times, women are such dumb cunts. But that's okay. If I don't get your bitch in a pony rig I'll get her another way. She reports to me eventually."

"What?" Bob asked, echoing Staci's unspoken thought.

"Didn't Kent tell you?" grinned Janis, "I'm going to be running this shop and all the maintenance crews. Staci will be working for me!"

"I thought you had the power plant!" Bob said, concerned.

"I did, but plans change, buddy." He moved to face Staci. "Very soon, you're mine, bitch."

Staci thought she was about to faint, but Bob moved between her and the engineer.

"Dick," he said quietly, "I know that Staci is going to be the only woman on your crew, and I know that you have a few imagined slights left over from the trip. But I'm telling you right now that I won’t tolerate any abuse of her while she is working for you. Her discipline is my responsibility, and if you have a problem with her work you bring it to me. Outside of that, hands off."

Before, such a talk would have had Dick Janis backing down. But this time he didn't move and his smile grew even wider.

"Bob, I get free rein as to how I run my shop...free rein. I don't give a shit what your concerns are because you no longer outrank me. If the bitch screws up, then she'll get what's coming to her. No hesitation, no mind games, no running to you. She'll be under the whip while she's working for me and you can't do shit about it."

Bob McKinly stared at Dick Janis, his face turning red with anger. He wasn't a man to back down either. "You want to make this personal? I'm game. You only have to touch her once to see what I will do with you."

Janis was about to reply when Alan Kent entered the scene, summoned by some concerned onlookers.

"Gentlemen?" he said quietly, looking oddly normal in an expensive business suit.

Janis and McKinly backed away from each other and Kent moved between the two of them. "Dick, take your toys and leave them outside. I'm about to give my speech and I don't want the distraction. Besides, it's not like they could hear me anyway, right?"

"Not at all, Kent. Those helmets isolate them completely. All they know is what they feel," said Janis with obvious pride.

Kent didn't look impressed, he waited until Janis left before turning to Bob. "I take it you just found out about his new assignment."

"She's not going to be working for him," Bob said through gritted teeth, watching as Janis led his pony team out of the building.

"She is. We need her expertise," Kent said, glancing at Staci.

"The fuck she is. You know what he's like, and Staci's been through enough already. Look..." Bob turned to look at Staci for a moment, seeing the way she pleaded with her eyes not to be left with Janis. "Alan, let's talk later about this."

"There's nothing to talk about, Bob. I've decided," Kent said, just a little too smugly.

"Then undecide, dammit!"

Kent smiled a soft smile. "One good undecision, deserves another. Understand me?"

Bob looked up.

Kent said, "Think about it, I have a speech to give. By the way, she looks lovely tonight." He smiled at Staci and left them alone in the crowd.

Staci wanted to ask what was going on but didn't dare make a sound because of the collar. With her hands bound behind her, all she could do was stand there watching her owner as he tried to get his anger under control. She could see he was really pissed, and she was scared that he would take out his anger on her. She’d had one abusive boyfriend in the past, and knew what it was like.

But Bob pulled himself together and took Staci's arm, they had a speech to attend.

Alan Kent made his way around to where someone had quickly slapped together a podium on a platform, and he climbed up and stood behind it. The crowd, seeing this settled down and someone started filming with a camera. Many wondered where his wife, Joyce, was. She had come on the flight and had been seen up and around after the landing, but she wasn't in the building right now. Most figured she was just being shy again.

Kent smiled, turning to look at everyone, and Staci could see that the former richest man on the Earth had really grown into the role as leader of the only human colony on this planet. It occurred to her that such a position could also be seen as ruler of the entire planet! No one in the entire history of the human race had ever been really able to make that claim...until now. No wonder he looked pleased, Staci thought.

"Gentlemen...companions," he started, "welcome to the planet...Freedom!"

There was an exclamation from the crowd and the applause started to build. It was actually a heady moment and Staci could feel the emotion in the air, the release of some kind of tension. Despite who these people were, Staci knew that they had just done the impossible. They had taken an enormous risk to make a journey unique to the human race, and they knew it. They had a right to be proud and if Staci's hands had been free she would have applauded too. Instead she looked up at Bob who was clapping loudly with the rest and gave him a smile. He looked at her, a big grin on his face and he quickly picked her up, hugging her and almost laughing. Staci did laugh, getting carried away with the momentum of the crowd's emotions, and for that moment at least she was a part of the group.

Kent had stayed behind his podium, applauding with the rest, but eventually he began to make motions for the group to settle down, and eventually they did.

"It's good to be here isn't it?" he said with a grin, and once more the crowd responded with applause. Kent got them under control a little faster this time and when they were quiet he said, "Keep this up and I may have to put collars on all of you to get though a single speech!"

There was laughter all around, although Staci noticed it was mostly from the men. A lot of the women who could, touched their collars, maybe unable to see the joke. This made Staci smile.

"Okay," said Kent, "let's continue. Some of you I know are watching on closed circuit, those that our much appreciated Doctor Kelly thought should stay in the hospital overnight after waking from hibernation. You're a part of this, so don't feel left out. I want to thank you and everyone here for making this trip possible. Without you, your time, your dedication, your investments, your skills...we could never have even dreamed of standing where we are today, a planet eight light years away from the place we all called home.

But here we are, on our own now. We all left people behind that we loved, people who we would have brought along if we could. But we're the lucky ones, I say. We're the ones that are going to build this new world together. We're going to make it a place where we and our children can live the way we want to, the way nature intended men and women to live. This is our home now, Freedom. Here, we...are...free!"

The crowd didn't hold back and once more applause echoed inside the large building. Kent held his hands up until all was quiet.

"Please," he said, "tonight we gather here to celebrate our being alive, but this isn't going to be our big celebration yet. That will come in a couple of weeks after we have done a few...essential jobs, to get the colony functional at a basic level. We'll have a big party with everyone involved at that time, a true celebration. But tonight I just wanted to say a few words, make a few announcements, that sort of thing." He smiled his famous smile. "But before we go on, there is one very special task that I have to perform, one that can't wait any longer. Dick Janis, Staci Mann, Bob McKinly, will you please join me up here?"

Staci was startled, and as the people around her looked at her she was once again reminded of her unusual dress. She stood stock still until a puzzled Bob McKinly took her by the arm. They headed to the platform and he helped her up before joining her. Both Bob and Staci stood uncomfortably before the crowd as they waited for Janis, who joined them a moment later. The engineer still had a smile on, but it was obvious that he too was puzzled.

Kent smiled at all three of them before turning to address the crowd.

"As you all know by now, Bob and Dick were the crew of the Mayflower, and in their care we made the journey from Earth. Staci here was also a part of the crew, a replacement for Maxine who died in a car accident just three days before we left. We'll have a memorial service for her soon, but for now we'll deal with life, not death. We are all very lucky to be here today, and we only draw breath due to the timely and courageous actions of all three of the Mayflower crew." Kent then went on to tell everyone about the encounter with the meteor that almost killed the mission during the slingshot. He told the story well, giving it a drama that seemed lacking at the time to Staci at least, and the colonists listened quietly, looking at each of them in turn.

With her hands bound behind her, Staci felt increasingly embarrassed.

"They persevered," Kent continued, story over, "and made it possible for us to be here. They are heroes, our first, and hopefully not our last. They have earned a place of honor in our brand new history books. So...I have a little something for them." Kent reached into a pocket and pulled out some folded cloth. He unwrapped it and Staci was surprised to see three medals on wide, cloth bands.

Kent gathered them up and in turn, placed one over the head of Janis, Staci and Bob. And when he was done he just stood back and began to applaud. Of course this was just the encouragement the crowd needed and soon everyone who was able was clapping and cheering.

Standing uncomfortably embarrassed, all three former members of the Mayflower crew smiled and accepted their praise, what else could they do? Staci herself felt close to tears by the outpouring of affection and thanks, and didn't know where to look.

Kent eventually saved them though by escorting them back off the platform, and then resuming his place behind the podium. He finished up his speech by acknowledging some of the other contributors and talking about the work the Colony had yet to do, but Staci remained in the glow from her unexpected award. She was hardly aware of Bob's arm around her shoulders.

"One last thing," Kent said once he was done, "our final order of business here tonight concerns the new Colony Council. As much fun as it is being in charge by myself, I believe that having a council to take care of colony decision making, is a wiser move for us to make. Several people have been nominated and asked to participate, some have been reluctant to do so." He looked at Bob, and Staci saw her owner clench his teeth and give a curt nod.

"I am hoping that these gentlemen will make the decision to step up and serve. We need them." Again he looked at Bob and Staci thought she figured out what Kent had meant earlier about decisions. Kent wanted Bob to be on his council, and apparently Bob had refused him.

"So," said Alan Kent, "I'm going to introduce to you our council, and it would be an honor if they accepted and came to stand with me." He began to read names, looking at each man in turn. For the most part they came forward eagerly, but one man only did so after a brief hesitation. Five men were now on the platform with Kent, and when Kent read Bob's name, Staci wasn't surprised. She saw Bob swallow, his good humor gone from his expression, and then he moved forward, leaving Staci alone on the floor as he mounted the platform for the second time.

Staci let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. For she realized that her job with Dick Janis was the reason Bob had gone along with Kent. The former industrialist had been holding her safety over Bob. She was very glad that Bob had chosen to join the council, and once more had to re-evaluate the man. They were up there for only a moment, and the crowd was especially happy when the Hero of the Mayflower had made his presence known on the platform, and then he was beside her once more.

"Let's go," he said, taking her arm, his face grim. He hurried her along as fast as he could while smiling and nodding at everyone they passed, and left the building while Kent was giving his final remarks.

One thing they missed was Dick Janis standing at the back of the room. He had a scowl on his face for he had expected a seat on Kent's council. Instead, he had been passed over, and Janis needed to know why. It was something he would have to discover later though, as people quickly started coming to him to offer their own personal thanks. He slipped on a smile, and like a well practiced politician he pressed flesh.

4.

Bob McKinly's mood hadn't improved any by the time they got back to his apartment, and Staci felt like she was walking on egg shells just being around him. She was well aware of the power he had over her at that moment and she didn't know how he behaved when pissed off, as he obviously was right now. Would he take out his frustrations on her? Could she do anything about it? Unsure of what her place was in all this, or what it was that had gotten Bob so angry, she didn't know how to proceed without setting him off. Inside, Bob pulled his shoes and jacket off and unlocked Staci's cuffs before walking through to the bedroom. He collapsed on the bed face up and put his hands to his face in frustration.

Staci, after wiping mud from her bare feet, watched him for a moment and then went to the bathroom. There, she washed her feet and legs before going to the kitchen and pouring a glass of wine. Staci figured that if she was going to get punished it might as well be for something she actually did, rather than just because of his anger. In the meantime, she would do what her instincts told her to do, and maybe she'd get it right.

So she followed him into the bedroom and handed him the drink.

"Here," she said, and after a moment, he took it and downed it in one draft.

Staci sighed, taking back the glass, and had another idea.

"Come on, roll over," she said, kneeling on the bed.

"What?" Bob mumbled

"Roll over...Sir. Come on, I'll give you a back massage. It'll help."

Bob did as he was asked and Staci straddled his legs. As she began to work on his back she felt very odd. This man was keeping her a prisoner, yet here she was helping him. She tried to think of it as simply saving her own skin. He wouldn't do anything to her if he wasn't mad at her.

Bob said nothing for a while, but slowly he began to relax under her hands, and his anger dissipated. When Staci figured it was safe, she asked him what was going on.

"You wouldn't understand," he replied into his pillow.

"Try me, Sir," Staci said.

Bob thought about it. He wanted to tell her about his reluctance to get involved with the council, and how he and Alan Kent had argued about it in the past. But he didn't have his reasons sorted out in his head yet. He could never explain to Kent why he wanted nothing to do with the job. He expected that Staci would have even less of a chance of understanding.

"It's something to do with the council, isn't it?" Staci asked him. "You didn't want to be on it."

Bob was a little stunned, unaware of how his feelings had been obvious to the girl. He shifted until he was on his back, Staci still straddling his legs. He looked at her face. He could see that she was worried.

"I know you're concerned," he said, "but we aren't going to talk about it right now."

"But isn't it true that you did it so Kent wouldn't make me go work with Janis?" she asked him.

Bob blinked, and then nodded. “I know that Janis would like nothing better than to take his pound of flesh from you. As long as you are obedient to me, I’ll do my best to protect you from him.”

Staci let a small smile cross her features. "Thanks. I know that you could...well...I know I don't have any say in the matter."

Bob let his gaze drift down the barely concealed body in front of him, enjoying the way her thighs pressed the sides of his legs. He looked up to see her blushing slightly under his scrutiny. He smiled. "You give a good back rub," he said, changing the subject. "You'll have to give me more of them."

"Yes Sir."

But for now, I think we both need to get some sleep. So strip and put the dress away, then go wash up for bed. I want you on your knees at the foot of the bed in ten minutes."

A flush of anger colored her face for a second, but she did as she was told and Bob watched her unwrap her sarong, revealing herself to him once more. As he waited for her to finish in the bathroom he slowly undressed and thought about the coming problems in his life. He really didn't want the council job but now he was stuck with it. But then he really had no choice. It was either that or let Staci suffer under Janis' rule. Bob didn't think she was up to it yet, not here.

When Staci came out she saw him standing naked by the window, staring out into the darkness as if the weight of the world was on his shoulders. She knelt and watched him, her eyes drifting over his body the way his had drifted over hers. But when he turned to use the bathroom himself, she averted her gaze and looked at the floor instead.

"You know how you're supposed to kneel," he said, an edge to his voice.

Staci remembered her lessons aboard the Mayflower, lessons drummed into her by this very man, and she changed from her relaxed posture to the more formal one. She spread her knees and put her hands behind her head, fingers interlocking. She hated this position, especially nude. It felt so exposing, so humiliating. But she kept it up as she listened to him go through his own bathroom routine, and didn't break it when he came back out and messed with a chain at the foot of the bed.

He locked the end to one of her ankle cuffs and then climbed into bed after turning off the lights. For a time it became silent and Staci, still in position, wondered if she was going to spend the night like this.

"Get on the bed," he said in the darkness.

Staci stood up slowly, a little stiff, and looked at Bob in the dim light from outside. He was under a sheet but Staci knew that he was still as naked as she was. She remembered his promise that he wasn't going to rape her, but she was still nervous about climbing into bed naked with him, so she just stood, undecided.

"Do I have to give you an order twice?" he asked. "It's not too late to make you spend the night on the bathroom floor!"

That was something Staci didn't want at all, so she clambered onto the bed and gingerly got under the sheet with him, careful not to get too close. Her heart was thumping hard though, especially when he rolled over to her and took her wrists in his hands. He looked her in the eye for a moment and then raised her arms above her head. He secured her wrists to another ready chain, and then ran his fingers down her arms to her face.

"You are a very lovely woman Staci," he whispered, "and I would be very happy sharing your company for the rest of our lives. I only hope that in time, you will come to share that feeling." He let his fingers dance lightly down her shoulders, brushing aside the light sheet and exposing her breasts. He felt her shiver under his touch as he took one of her nipples in his fingers and rolled it slightly. "At a time like this, you might expect me to play with you a little. I could show you things, let you experience feelings you've never felt before. You'd find happiness under my touch. But not tonight. It's been a very long day and we need to sleep. We've got a tough week ahead."

"What are we doing...tomorrow?" Staci said, relieved that he was holding onto his promise yet faintly disappointed that something wasn't going to happen anyway. She refused to acknowledge that disappointment.

"I told you. We're going to be working together moving hibernation units out of all the pods and installing them in the shelter."

"And after that, Sir?"

"Maybe you'll just work for me, I know I can use you, but I expect you'll still be needed elsewhere. You're too valuable as an engineer not to use you...at least while the colony is getting on its feet."

"Sir. You know, you never told me what you’re going to be doing here, once things settle down."

Bob smiled. "You'll find out soon enough. Now, go to sleep. I don't want to hear another word until morning."

Staci nodded and got another surprise when he leaned close and kissed her on the lips, before settling back on his own side of the bed. Despite how tired she was, it was a long time before she fell asleep.

5.

Bob had correctly predicted that the next week would be tough. The next two weeks were. Long days were spent working with crews doing all the necessary work needed to bring the community online.

The two earth movers managed to dig a huge hole, into which was flown one of the Quonset-sized buildings. It was immediately buried and the second pod that housed their apartment was moved over the top of it. Staci found herself on the crew connecting the two buildings, via both an elevator and a stairwell, and she found out from the people she worked with that the building she and Bob lived in had been specially designed to mount on top of the buried pod. She never got a chance to find out more though because of all the work connecting the two buildings, and when done, she worked underground installing the three hundred hibernation units. It was tiring work, but she knew it had to be done, and even if she had been free she would have worked just as hard. This was the Colony's last resort in case of trouble. No one would breathe easy until it was finished.

There were good and bad parts about being so busy, at least in Staci's eyes. The good parts were that she was more normally dressed, a sarong not being very practical for the work. Yet she was still denied shoes which made her a little more careful when she walked around.

Another good thing was that she spent little time feeling like a slave. Her evenings at home with Bob were short. The two of them fell into bed early not because he wanted to play with her, but because both were just too tired to stay awake. Not that she escaped it entirely.

At 'home' she was naked more often than not, and her meals were still taken on her knees. She also had all the cleaning and cooking duties, and basically took care of the place while Bob relaxed. Staci knew she wasn't a natural housekeeper, so she didn't care for that very much. But she tried her best and while it wasn't great, Bob seemed satisfied.

She also had to put up with his touching her, caressing her – although to be honest she didn't mind that as much as she thought she should. In fact, she couldn't remember the last time she had such an attentive lover, even though Bob had yet to go beyond the touching phase. She tried not to think of him as a lover either.

But at work she was basically free, although she worked collar-gagged most of the time. But being the only woman engineer meant her fending off unwanted advances from some of the men, until Bob told them all that she was off limits that way. To get back at her they usually saw to it that she ended up doing the scut work until she made it clear to Bob how one of her so-called superiors was screwing up the power bank for all the hibernation units. Bob told Kent, and Kent corrected the chain of command. She still couldn't speak, but at least she had the power to make sure the job was done right.

The so-called superior in question, a man named John Warfin, was not amused, and Staci figured she had made another enemy.

Kent though, playing it smart, decreed through the council that until the colony was up and running all Dom/sub formality was to be kept to a minimum. There simply wasn't time for it.

Staci had to laugh when she heard about that, thinking about Kent's master plan of women serving men, and how it was thrown aside when it wasn’t convenient.

So much for nature's intent!

Outside her immediate world though, building continued. Prefab structures were set up for housing and other uses. The heavy equipment that dug the hole now was used to dig trenches for the power and water lines each building needed.

The power station itself was finally brought online by a crew headed by Dick Janis, and each day more and more of the colony buildings were placed on the grid.

Supplies were redistributed, equipment placed where it was needed, and people began to settle in. The colony came slowly to life.

Only then was attention really turned to the planet they were making their home, but that wasn't a part of Staci's world just yet.

Instead, on the day they were installing the last few hibernation units, Bob McKinly showed up to see Staci. "Come on," he told her, "we have an appointment."

She wanted to protest that she still had work to do, but of course being gagged she couldn't. So obediently she climbed out of the hole she was working in and stood patiently while Bob locked her cuffs behind her back. It seemed that she never got to go anywhere without being cuffed, and Staci knew it was more for Bob's benefit than hers. The man certainly loved his restraints.

He led her to the side door of the building and out onto the street. It was still a little muddy, but only due to the newly replaced sod that covered where the trenches had been dug. It hadn't rained since that first night and the weather had really been very pleasant. Staci padded along behind her owner, almost used to walking around barefoot. She nodded to the people she was beginning to know, even though she had yet to speak to most of them. She didn't even feel that odd anymore walking around with her hands bound. If she had been the only one she would have certainly felt out of place. But most of the women she’d seen so far seemed at one time or another to have also spent time in public in some sort of bondage. Most of the time it was something simple, like having their hands tied. She had also seen women in long chains that seemed to connect every limb with another, and seemed more ornamental than restrictive. There were also a couple of instances where she had seen women obviously being punished, strung up naked outside a building, helpless; or at least she thought they were being punished. With this group she wasn't so sure.

Today there were few women out, so there wasn't much to see.

As they walked, Staci realized that they were heading to the Hospital, and this was confirmed when they went inside. Waiting for them was Anna, dressed in the traditional nurse's whites with an additional red collar. She was the only woman Staci had ever seen here that regularly wore shoes.

"Hello Master McKinly," Anna said with a smile, "the doctor is waiting for you."

"Lead on," said Bob with a smile.

Staci wondered what was happening. She wasn't sick or injured and neither was Bob. There wasn't a reason for seeing the doctor, not one she could fathom anyway. The unknown made her nervous, but she followed where Anna and Bob led.

Anna showed them into an examining room and while they waited for Doctor Kelly, Bob released Staci's hands and Anna asked her to get undressed.

Instead of complying however, Staci stood and folded her arms, staring at Bob with a "What's going on?" look on her face.

Bob looked at her for a moment before ordering the collar gag off. "I see you have something to say, slave girl," he said.

"What's going on...Sir?" she asked him, choosing her words with care. "Why are we here?"

"I would think you would have learned by now, that yours is not to reason why," Bob answered.

Staci wasn't impressed. "Sir, I have a lot of work to do yet, and I don't see any reason for being here. So let's just forget the games for now and I'll get back to work!"

Anna stepped back, a little shocked at Staci's directness. But Bob didn't seem to react at all. Instead he said rather quietly yet firmly, "You will do as you are told. Nothing more, nothing less. I want you here...now. So that is where you will be. Now do what Anna asked and get out of those clothes."

Even though the man spoke quietly, Staci knew he wasn't joking. She had come to know some of his moods over the last two weeks and while she was no longer afraid that he would take out his anger on her, there was still a power in the man that had to be respected. She recognized the tone he used now as one that expected utmost obedience from her. She had heard it often enough. So she reached for the zipper and slipped out of her only item of clothing.

Anna took the dirty jump suit from her and folded it up. She left the room with it and a moment later returned with the good doctor.

Doctor Kelly looked preoccupied but he smiled and shook both their hands before having Staci sit on the exam table. He strapped a medi-monitor to her arm and brought her medical file up on a nearby terminal.

"Okay," he said, settling into a chair, "I know it took a while but as you can understand I've been a bit busy." He smiled. "We now have Staci's DNA mapped and can make the adjustments we need."

"Adjustments?" exclaimed Staci, jumping off the table.

"SHUT UP AND GET BACK UP THERE!" Bob yelled, making her jump.

Doctor Kelly looked concerned. "She does know about this, doesn't she? I won’t operate on anyone who hasn't personally agreed to it!"

"No, she doesn't know," Bob said, looking at Staci. "But I thought the best way to explain things would be to do it here and now."

"Explain what?" asked the nude woman angrily.

Kelly looked from one to the other. "I do not care to be put in the middle like this," he said worriedly.

"Don't worry about it, Doc. It's okay," Bob said. He stood up and walked over to where Staci sat, and took her hands in his.

"I didn't want to tell you earlier because I didn't know how you would react, and I knew that Doctor Kelly here could answer any questions you might have better than I could. But I swear to you, right now, that nothing bad is going to happen to you. In fact, from what I've heard, we are all going to have to go through this."

"Go through what?" Staci asked suspiciously.

Bob looked at the doctor.

Kelly sighed and said, "Genetic manipulation at the DNA level."

Staci frowned. "Isn't that illegal?"

"On Earth yes, but not here...not for certain uses."

"What uses are those?"

"Well...as your Master just said, we're all going to have to undergo a slight genetic modification quite soon if we are to continue living here. Preliminary results are in on the compatibility of the local fauna and flora with our own systems, in regard to being a possible food source. The results at first didn't look good due to incompatible chemistries. But I did some research and it is possible to shift our genome enough to allow us to digest fully the local plants and animals, with no ill effects. It is quite a small change really, but a needed one; just an alteration of our gastric acids to be precise. Or else when our own food runs out, we won’t be able to eat off the land."

"Are you sure about this?" Staci asked, slightly shocked and scared.

"Quite sure. But that isn't all. We...especially you women, will also need an adjustment to ward off the increased solar radiation that this planet gets. Another small adjustment."

"Are there any risks?" Staci asked.

Kelly shook his head. "We can be pretty specific in the changes we want to make, and in any case radical changes, like an extra arm, are impossible with someone your age," he said with a smile. "We already use these techniques to eliminate cancer cells and build a better body defense system, it is not new technology. You will be fine."

Staci still looked dubious, but it all sounded like it made sense. "Okay," she said finally.

"Good. Then Anna will prep you and we can get started."

"What, now?" Staci asked.

"Of course, that's why you are here."

"But...what would I eat when you're done?"

Kelly laughed. "I'm sorry, I guess I didn't explain it well. While we are doing the procedure today, you won’t begin to notice the changes for at least six months. Maybe in a year you will have switched over to a duel diet, but not by this afternoon. It will take your body time to rebuild according to the new genetic instructions I will be giving it. Biology doesn't move quickly. Understand?"

Staci gave a slight grin, "Yeah. Sorry."

"Doctor," said Bob, "about the other thing?"

Kelly nodded and looked at the read-out on the medi-monitor on Staci's arm before looking once more at her chart. "I think maybe in five months or so you can start trying, but hibernation does throw the body clock off some. You'll just have to wait until she starts menstruating again."

"Wait a minute," said Stacy, alarmed again, "are you talking about what I'm thinking you're talking about?"

"About you getting pregnant, yes!" said the doctor.

"I'm not ready to have children yet, and even if I were I certainly wouldn't have them here!"

"Why not?" Bob asked.

"Because...because...of what you all do!" She looked from one to another, but saw no sympathy in their eyes. "I can't have children."

"Not now you can't," said Kelly. "Of course, when we left Earth you had only just renewed your Depo Provera shot, which of course wore out in transit. But, as you know, the drugs used during long duration hibernation to keep you from aging, prevent women from going though their menstrual cycle while under. Your body takes months to recover from that and I don't see any woman on the planet capable of getting pregnant for at least five months, but after that you will be able to fill your obligations."

"What obligations?" Staci asked.

Bob blinked. "Didn't Kent tell you about this on Earth?"

Staci shook her head.

"That asshole," Bob muttered angrily. "I would have thought he would have least have told you about this." He sighed and sat down. "Look. We're a small colony. Three hundred people are not very many and we're all we're ever going to get unless more people come from Earth. It's up to us to populate this planet and to do that we need a self-engineered population boom. We also need to get our genetic diversity up so we don't inbreed ourselves to death. Now, everyone here was told this before they signed up, or at least they were supposed to be. Everyone knew coming into this that the first few generations here had to be family-oriented. Every man would become a father, but mostly every woman would become a mother. We, you and I Staci, and every other family unit, are required by our agreement to have five children."

"Five?" exclaimed Staci.

"Yes. One would be ours, a product of our own genetic mix. But the others would all be artificially inseminated, using random sperm and egg samples from our gene bank."

"Gene bank," Staci echoed.

Doctor Kelly took over. "We brought five thousand samples of human eggs and sperm, all ready for implantation. It’s the only way we can populate this planet without danger of inbreeding. Not a single racial group was left out, the human race is well represented here. But we can’t do it without you. Every woman here is needed."

"He's right, Staci," Bob added, "we need you. Kent should have told you this, but that doesn't change anything. You're a part of this community now, but for the community to survive beyond us, you need to step forward."

Staci looked at the men for a moment, then at Anna who was standing quietly by the door. "You agreed to this?" Staci asked her.

Anna nodded, a smile on her lips. "I've always wanted to be a mother, and I can’t think of a better reason. Just think, our children will have a whole new world to populate. It's like we're Adam and Eve." She stepped forward and took one of Staci's hands. "You'll be fine, trust me. You won’t be alone either. Just think. Once things get going, there will at any one time be almost a hundred and fifty pregnant women for the men to deal with! Won’t that be fun!" She grinned at the men who both groaned.

Staci actually managed a smile. "I'll need to think about it for a while," she said.

"No hurry, Staci," Bob said, smiling. "No hurry at all."

Kelly stood up and rubbed his hands together. "Well, if there isn't anything else, let's get Staci prepped. Bob, you'll be next."

"Sure thing," said Bob with a smile.

End of Section.