Part 47
The organized chaos that was Crossroads Facility carried on as Ms. Danoob stood near the Gate, waiting. Status reports and such were being rattled off through her earpiece for this, perhaps the most important jump they were going to be making. Not only would it bring in the money needed to keep this place going, but it would bring back the missing member of their team. Seven was probably the most liked of the five of them by the various staff members; she always helped out and didn't have the same ego problems that plagued the others. They were just as anxious to get her back as any of them.
Well, any except for one, who'd sell her soul to bring Seven back.
The door opened, and they strode in - Mara, Starbuck, Lara, and Samus. Without a word they crossed through the chaos into the open doorway to the Gate itself. It wasn't going to be an easy run, and there was a noticeable tension in the air as the door closed.
"Give me a go-no go for launch," Ms. Danoob said. The reports came in, everything was at the ready. "We are go for launch," Ms. Danoob said. "Good luck, ladies."
"There's no such thing as luck," Mara said in a voice no one could hear. And then the four were whisked away.
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Ronald opened the door, a smile across his face as he approached Seven and Grace. "I've gotten word back from the Imperial Division Of Human Services," he said. "It's rare, but not unprecedented to shift from servant to wife, but it's still legal. I filled out the forms this morning, and it's all arranged, and effective immediately."
Grace turned to Seven. Seven wasn't sure how Grace would react to the news that she was being pushed aside for Ronald's new toy, but her expression never changed. "I'm happy for you," Grace said. "And I know you'll make him happy."
"I will," Seven said, and it was hard not to get a little choked up at the news. She hadn't really thought it could happen, but now she realized just how much she'd been silently hoping, and it was hard not to give in to her emotions. She walked up and embraced him. "Thank you," she whispered. "I'll do all I can to make sure you never regret this decision."
I know," Ronald said. "Well, Grace," he said to her. "I think Seven needs a proper initiation into her new role, what do you think?"
"I can imagine only one way of doing that, Ronald," Grace said, and still there was no sign of any resentment or sadness. Perhaps, Seven wondered, it was because she was saving it for this moment, to really let Seven have it. Somehow, that didn't make her worry in the least.
--------------------------------------------------------------
"Operations," Ms. Danoob said, "it's time for all hell to break loose."
"Aye, ma'am," came the voice over the comm. Across the city, crimes were reported taking place everywhere. There were break-ins, bombings, shootings, accidents, everything. And none of them actually existed, but thanks to the security codes Lara had acquired, they all looked legitimate. So when the quartet arrived at the entrance to the building and began working their way through the security bots like a hot knife through butter, no one gave it any more concern than any other alarm going on at that moment.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Seven shivered just a little. She'd been stripped and she had a feeling Ronald had turned the thermostat down a little to perk her up. There was a tug as her arms were pulled straight up, and locked into place. Seven stood there on her tip-toes, stretched out. Ronald and Grace circled her like hungry sharks. "Ready?" Ronald asked darkly. Seven giggled in anticipation.
Ronald and Grace struck together, and Seven was instantly roaring with laughter. Both had dropped all ten fingers into each underarm, tickling furiously. Seven shook and sputtered while they just grinned and scratched away over the smooth hollows.
Seven was soon going out of her mind. Ronald was tickling all over the underarm with practically hunger, relishing the feel of her skin and the way she reacted. Seven knew that he'd come to love seeing her get tickled, and seemed to love doing the tickling even more than that. He tickled as if this was the only chance he'd ever have and he wanted to get the most out of it he could.
Grace, on the other hand -or pit, in this case- was calm and collected. And yet, she tickled just as intensely, as if she was punishing Seven for taking Ronald away. Oh sure, she'd still be around - she had to raise the children, after all- but she was never going to have the same status as before, and Seven thought that even an artificial woman would resent that in some way. But maybe it was just Seven's imagination. It was hard to decide, really, when she was laughing so hard. These two were really pushing her limits, and she wound up begging for them to stop, because she couldn't take it any more. Even though it was so erotic, she couldn't take as much as they were giving.
Ronald relented, and Grace stopped immediately as well. Seven was left there, gasping for breath while they circled her again. After exactly one minute they both struck again, and Seven was again roaring with laughter.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Lara crouched on the floor, firing both her blasters at the center of the lumbering security-bot approaching. It was one of the heavy-duty ones employed to stop rioters from gaining entrance. It started to spark under her attacks, but still it came. It pulled its own weapon, and Lara jumped aside as it blew out the floor where she'd been standing a moment before. Lara popped back up and fired four more quick bursts before rolling again and avoiding another near miss. She shot twice more, punching through the armor and hitting a vital component, and the giant tumbled over, shaking the floor.
Lara smirked at her handiwork, but it quickly faded as another climbed over the wreckage of the first. There was a powerful discharge, and a hole suddenly appeared in the middle of its chest; it toppled over. Samus gave Lara a brief look, then moved on. "No one likes a show off," she called after testily, then ducked as more fire began surrounding them.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Seven was gasping now, though not from the tickling. Her legs were wrapped around Ronald now, and he held her behind in place, allowing them to make love while she hung there. Grace, for her part, wasn't out of this yet; she was still having a good time with Seven. At the moment she was standing behind her, reaching around and lightly tickling on her nipples. Seven giggled under her ministrations, but it was just a nice side dish for the main course. She felt so incredible like this, with him holding her close like this and the sensation of her body locked to his. But the tickling was nevertheless a wonderful addition, and every touch kept her giggling. She wasn't sure who this was more for, her or Ronald, but she was enjoying it immensely. After the long ordeal she'd been through before this, it was a wonderful experience.
She finally felt the wonderful release, and she was let down from her position. Ronald kissed her all the while. It wasn't the kind of honeymoon she'd ever really imagined having, but it'd more than do for her. "Why don't you get dressed," Ronald said after the kiss ended. "We can go out and really see the city."
"I'd love that," Seven said, taking his hand and squeezing it. She turned to Grace and smiled at her. "You're absolutely evil," Seven said to her with a smile.
"I trust that's what you wanted," Grace said, offering a small smile of her own.
"Absolutely," Seven said, and gave her a light kiss too before heading to find something to wear.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Mara shot down another security bot, shouldering the wreckage out of the way even before it fell in her efforts to get to the stairway.
"Mara," Ms. Danoob said into her headset, "the countermeasures are eroding our program."
"I know," Mara said, kicking a bot aside as it came around the corner and putting two shots into its neck.
"If that's compromised, the alarm will sound and Ronald will escape through the roof exit.
"I'm going as fast as I can," Mara said with frustration. She reached the doorway, but a quick prod from her danger sense drove her back. The edge of the door blew out under the effect of the attack, but Starbuck was soon with her. Good, she was just what Mara needed - she was a soldier, used to working as part of a team. She may not have been the strongest, but she had the training. The two gave some quick signals, and with Starbuck providing cover Mara moved in and opened fire, annihilating them. Mara got to her feet as Starbuck came in, shouldering her blaster rifle. She pulled out a grappler gun, sighted up it and fired. The arrow shot up the entire dizzying height and hit the ceiling. On impact, it began drilling into the material until it was firmly embedded in hard crete and the signal on Starbuck's belt chimed. Starbuck attached it to her harness, and Mara attached hers to Starbuck's. The two wrapped their arms firmly around each other, and then the winch took off, sending them up the flights at a dizzying speed.
"Hey Mara," Starbuck asked, "what would happen if I started tickling you right now?"
"I am not in the mood for your games," Mara said irritably.
"Yeesh, sorry, thought you'd be in a better mood by now. We're nearly there."
Exactly, Mara thought. And that's usually when everything goes wrong. She had this gnawing fear that she was going to find the suite empty, that Seven would have been evacuated already and she'd never have a chance to stop her. The night before, when she should have been filled with anticipation of getting her back, she was tormented by nightmares of Seven turning to dust just as Mara reached out for her... that she’d get so close, but never be able to reach her. She didn’t know what she’d do if- No, she told herself, don't think like that. You do and you'll start screwing up.
Mara and Starbuck arrived at the entrance to the top floor. They quickly unhooked themselves and pushed on. Thankfully the lack of alarms meant no security here. Samus was already there with Lara. "Orders?" Samus asked.
"Open the door," Mara said flatly.
"Of course, ma'am," Samus said, and pointed at the door with her arm cannon. "Knock knock."
--------------------------------------------------------------
Seven put her clothes back on - real clothes, this time. She'd been given a choice of garments suited to her measurements, and thanks to replication technology she had it immediately. She looked in the mirror at herself; it was hard to imagine that she could ever have been anyone else, that there could have been a time when she wasn't here. All she could think about was how lucky she was to be here, like this, and have everything that'd come to her.
And then, it all came apart in one instant. There was an explosion, so strong it knocked Seven over. She quickly ran out of the room, and there was debris everywhere, and Ronald was holding Grace. She’d shielded him from the blast, but a hunk of metal had pierced her head. She wasn't dead, obviously, but she would need to be repaired. At the moment, however, that was the furthest thought from Seven's mind, because all she could think about was the quartet who had done it. Lara, who had escaped from custody. Kara, who'd always been more or less dismissive towards her. Some person in a kind of battle armor. And the last-
"Mara," she whispered. She was so shocked at the sight that her legs lost their strength and she collapsed onto her bottom. She stared at her and said her name again.
"It's me, Seven," Mara said, her jaw trembling. "I've come to take you home."
The organized chaos that was Crossroads Facility carried on as Ms. Danoob stood near the Gate, waiting. Status reports and such were being rattled off through her earpiece for this, perhaps the most important jump they were going to be making. Not only would it bring in the money needed to keep this place going, but it would bring back the missing member of their team. Seven was probably the most liked of the five of them by the various staff members; she always helped out and didn't have the same ego problems that plagued the others. They were just as anxious to get her back as any of them.
Well, any except for one, who'd sell her soul to bring Seven back.
The door opened, and they strode in - Mara, Starbuck, Lara, and Samus. Without a word they crossed through the chaos into the open doorway to the Gate itself. It wasn't going to be an easy run, and there was a noticeable tension in the air as the door closed.
"Give me a go-no go for launch," Ms. Danoob said. The reports came in, everything was at the ready. "We are go for launch," Ms. Danoob said. "Good luck, ladies."
"There's no such thing as luck," Mara said in a voice no one could hear. And then the four were whisked away.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Ronald opened the door, a smile across his face as he approached Seven and Grace. "I've gotten word back from the Imperial Division Of Human Services," he said. "It's rare, but not unprecedented to shift from servant to wife, but it's still legal. I filled out the forms this morning, and it's all arranged, and effective immediately."
Grace turned to Seven. Seven wasn't sure how Grace would react to the news that she was being pushed aside for Ronald's new toy, but her expression never changed. "I'm happy for you," Grace said. "And I know you'll make him happy."
"I will," Seven said, and it was hard not to get a little choked up at the news. She hadn't really thought it could happen, but now she realized just how much she'd been silently hoping, and it was hard not to give in to her emotions. She walked up and embraced him. "Thank you," she whispered. "I'll do all I can to make sure you never regret this decision."
I know," Ronald said. "Well, Grace," he said to her. "I think Seven needs a proper initiation into her new role, what do you think?"
"I can imagine only one way of doing that, Ronald," Grace said, and still there was no sign of any resentment or sadness. Perhaps, Seven wondered, it was because she was saving it for this moment, to really let Seven have it. Somehow, that didn't make her worry in the least.
--------------------------------------------------------------
"Operations," Ms. Danoob said, "it's time for all hell to break loose."
"Aye, ma'am," came the voice over the comm. Across the city, crimes were reported taking place everywhere. There were break-ins, bombings, shootings, accidents, everything. And none of them actually existed, but thanks to the security codes Lara had acquired, they all looked legitimate. So when the quartet arrived at the entrance to the building and began working their way through the security bots like a hot knife through butter, no one gave it any more concern than any other alarm going on at that moment.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Seven shivered just a little. She'd been stripped and she had a feeling Ronald had turned the thermostat down a little to perk her up. There was a tug as her arms were pulled straight up, and locked into place. Seven stood there on her tip-toes, stretched out. Ronald and Grace circled her like hungry sharks. "Ready?" Ronald asked darkly. Seven giggled in anticipation.
Ronald and Grace struck together, and Seven was instantly roaring with laughter. Both had dropped all ten fingers into each underarm, tickling furiously. Seven shook and sputtered while they just grinned and scratched away over the smooth hollows.
Seven was soon going out of her mind. Ronald was tickling all over the underarm with practically hunger, relishing the feel of her skin and the way she reacted. Seven knew that he'd come to love seeing her get tickled, and seemed to love doing the tickling even more than that. He tickled as if this was the only chance he'd ever have and he wanted to get the most out of it he could.
Grace, on the other hand -or pit, in this case- was calm and collected. And yet, she tickled just as intensely, as if she was punishing Seven for taking Ronald away. Oh sure, she'd still be around - she had to raise the children, after all- but she was never going to have the same status as before, and Seven thought that even an artificial woman would resent that in some way. But maybe it was just Seven's imagination. It was hard to decide, really, when she was laughing so hard. These two were really pushing her limits, and she wound up begging for them to stop, because she couldn't take it any more. Even though it was so erotic, she couldn't take as much as they were giving.
Ronald relented, and Grace stopped immediately as well. Seven was left there, gasping for breath while they circled her again. After exactly one minute they both struck again, and Seven was again roaring with laughter.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Lara crouched on the floor, firing both her blasters at the center of the lumbering security-bot approaching. It was one of the heavy-duty ones employed to stop rioters from gaining entrance. It started to spark under her attacks, but still it came. It pulled its own weapon, and Lara jumped aside as it blew out the floor where she'd been standing a moment before. Lara popped back up and fired four more quick bursts before rolling again and avoiding another near miss. She shot twice more, punching through the armor and hitting a vital component, and the giant tumbled over, shaking the floor.
Lara smirked at her handiwork, but it quickly faded as another climbed over the wreckage of the first. There was a powerful discharge, and a hole suddenly appeared in the middle of its chest; it toppled over. Samus gave Lara a brief look, then moved on. "No one likes a show off," she called after testily, then ducked as more fire began surrounding them.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Seven was gasping now, though not from the tickling. Her legs were wrapped around Ronald now, and he held her behind in place, allowing them to make love while she hung there. Grace, for her part, wasn't out of this yet; she was still having a good time with Seven. At the moment she was standing behind her, reaching around and lightly tickling on her nipples. Seven giggled under her ministrations, but it was just a nice side dish for the main course. She felt so incredible like this, with him holding her close like this and the sensation of her body locked to his. But the tickling was nevertheless a wonderful addition, and every touch kept her giggling. She wasn't sure who this was more for, her or Ronald, but she was enjoying it immensely. After the long ordeal she'd been through before this, it was a wonderful experience.
She finally felt the wonderful release, and she was let down from her position. Ronald kissed her all the while. It wasn't the kind of honeymoon she'd ever really imagined having, but it'd more than do for her. "Why don't you get dressed," Ronald said after the kiss ended. "We can go out and really see the city."
"I'd love that," Seven said, taking his hand and squeezing it. She turned to Grace and smiled at her. "You're absolutely evil," Seven said to her with a smile.
"I trust that's what you wanted," Grace said, offering a small smile of her own.
"Absolutely," Seven said, and gave her a light kiss too before heading to find something to wear.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Mara shot down another security bot, shouldering the wreckage out of the way even before it fell in her efforts to get to the stairway.
"Mara," Ms. Danoob said into her headset, "the countermeasures are eroding our program."
"I know," Mara said, kicking a bot aside as it came around the corner and putting two shots into its neck.
"If that's compromised, the alarm will sound and Ronald will escape through the roof exit.
"I'm going as fast as I can," Mara said with frustration. She reached the doorway, but a quick prod from her danger sense drove her back. The edge of the door blew out under the effect of the attack, but Starbuck was soon with her. Good, she was just what Mara needed - she was a soldier, used to working as part of a team. She may not have been the strongest, but she had the training. The two gave some quick signals, and with Starbuck providing cover Mara moved in and opened fire, annihilating them. Mara got to her feet as Starbuck came in, shouldering her blaster rifle. She pulled out a grappler gun, sighted up it and fired. The arrow shot up the entire dizzying height and hit the ceiling. On impact, it began drilling into the material until it was firmly embedded in hard crete and the signal on Starbuck's belt chimed. Starbuck attached it to her harness, and Mara attached hers to Starbuck's. The two wrapped their arms firmly around each other, and then the winch took off, sending them up the flights at a dizzying speed.
"Hey Mara," Starbuck asked, "what would happen if I started tickling you right now?"
"I am not in the mood for your games," Mara said irritably.
"Yeesh, sorry, thought you'd be in a better mood by now. We're nearly there."
Exactly, Mara thought. And that's usually when everything goes wrong. She had this gnawing fear that she was going to find the suite empty, that Seven would have been evacuated already and she'd never have a chance to stop her. The night before, when she should have been filled with anticipation of getting her back, she was tormented by nightmares of Seven turning to dust just as Mara reached out for her... that she’d get so close, but never be able to reach her. She didn’t know what she’d do if- No, she told herself, don't think like that. You do and you'll start screwing up.
Mara and Starbuck arrived at the entrance to the top floor. They quickly unhooked themselves and pushed on. Thankfully the lack of alarms meant no security here. Samus was already there with Lara. "Orders?" Samus asked.
"Open the door," Mara said flatly.
"Of course, ma'am," Samus said, and pointed at the door with her arm cannon. "Knock knock."
--------------------------------------------------------------
Seven put her clothes back on - real clothes, this time. She'd been given a choice of garments suited to her measurements, and thanks to replication technology she had it immediately. She looked in the mirror at herself; it was hard to imagine that she could ever have been anyone else, that there could have been a time when she wasn't here. All she could think about was how lucky she was to be here, like this, and have everything that'd come to her.
And then, it all came apart in one instant. There was an explosion, so strong it knocked Seven over. She quickly ran out of the room, and there was debris everywhere, and Ronald was holding Grace. She’d shielded him from the blast, but a hunk of metal had pierced her head. She wasn't dead, obviously, but she would need to be repaired. At the moment, however, that was the furthest thought from Seven's mind, because all she could think about was the quartet who had done it. Lara, who had escaped from custody. Kara, who'd always been more or less dismissive towards her. Some person in a kind of battle armor. And the last-
"Mara," she whispered. She was so shocked at the sight that her legs lost their strength and she collapsed onto her bottom. She stared at her and said her name again.
"It's me, Seven," Mara said, her jaw trembling. "I've come to take you home."
