Asteroid, Mine

Asteroid, Mine

Dino Dave
dino@canoemail.com

STANDARD DISCLAIMER:

 The following story is a work of fiction intended for a mature
 audience. It contains sexually explicit scenes, course language and
 violence. Parental guidance is advised.
 
 Feel free to distribute this work freely, provided it remains
 unchanged, with credit given to the author. Please download and enjoy
 it! All I ask is that you e-mail myself with comments or questions. I
 can be reached at dino@canoemail.com

 If you enjoyed this story and you'd like to drop me a line, I'd
 appreciate hearing from you. I can be reached at  dino@canoemail.com
 
 Thanks,    Dino Dave.

Asteroid, Mine
[part 1/4]
		   --=--

 Asteroid, Mine. [preface]   C/W Dino Dave Dec.1999

 This story takes place in the year 2300 to 2400, something like that.
 It could happen sooner than we think. Humanity has fouled it's nest,
 pushing itself, and all life as we know it, to the brink of
 extinction. Earth is now populated by a handful of dedicated
 researchers salvaging artifacts of human history and trying to restore
 something of our once beautiful world.

 Our technology has served to rescue our civilization. Not the over
 engineered, unreliable technology of today, but a simpler, more
 conservative technology, systems based on efficiency and reliability.
 Mankind has reached the heavens, discovered new worlds, gone forth and
 multiplied. Greed, mismanagement, exploitation, have been left behind.
 Now humanity works together for progress, for the betterment of all.
 Resources from space are developed, not for profit for a few, but to
 benefit all. Life is once again good.


 Asteroid, Mine  [chapter 1]

 The big machine bucked and rocked. I nudged the control stick to
 center the irregular shaped nodule in the massive claw, evening the
 balance. I made the adjustment automatically, without taking my eyes
 from the story I had been reading. The Marquis had Pauline's nude body
 stretched along a ladder, her wrists and ankles tied tightly to it's
 sides. The cat whistled through the air, striking her bottom again and
 again, her screams of pain and ecstasy filling the basement room,
 echoing off the cold stone walls.

 My hand reached down to finger the controls of the operators chair to
 deflate and harden the seat cushion while I rocked my hips forward,
 pressing my clit down, letting the vibrations of the digger work on
 me. The machine strained to carve out another huge nodule from the
 trench, rocking slightly as it transferred it to the ore belt. The
 banging from the jaws, the vibrations of the machine transferred
 through my bare feet, up my legs, and more directly through the seat
 to my pussy, pushing me closer to the edge. Pauline's ass and back
 were criss-crossed with angry red welts as De Sade continued to slash
 his whip across her helpless form.

 The engine roared as the huge digger bit into the ground. My foot
 lashed out at the E-stop bar as the cabin tilted up, my clit ground
 harder into the chair, and my orgasm crashed through me. The roaring
 both outside and inside my head eased off. As the power from my cum
 tapered away I slumped back in the chair even as the machine gently
 slumped back into the trench, it's power winding down. I'm going to
 have to do more blasting here, I thought, as I opened my eyes to see
 what I knew I'd see, the ore highly concentrated here, too much for
 even the power of this machine. At least we'll get a good yield for
 the week.

 For the past eight years I have worked for the Intra System Asteroid
 Mining Company, I SAM for short. Fresh out of grad school at Rigel 4,
 oh, I had grand ideas of taking my diploma and landing some cushy high
 credit job at Eden or Olympus, where the money and the life was easy.
 But a girl has to eat, and after ten months with no prospects I
 signed on with I SAM for a year. I started in the shop, machine
 repair. The work was hard, dirty, even dangerous. But damned if I
 didn't enjoy it. After that first year I re-upped, five weeks training
 in electronics and machine controls, then back at it with cleaner
 work and more credits to bank. Work was work but I SAM took care of
 it's workers. There was none of the bull shit that infests a lot of
 jobs, you were trained how to do things, then left to do it. Your
 needs were taken care of and the pay was better than good. And the
 people I worked with were the greatest.

 I powered up to disengage the claw from the massive boulder it had
 tried to eat, then set the drive to back up along the trench. I had
 still another hour in my shift so I could get most of the charges set
 before Jim took over. Unlike ore retrieval, which the digger could
 pretty much handle on auto, setting a blast was manual work so
 Pauline's plight would have to wait. I stowed my reader in my pack,
 then guided the machine up the ramp and across the surface again to
 the head of the trench. Five holes, five plasma charges, then retreat
 a safe distance. By then Jim should dock and I would be free for a
 four day off. I tapped the comm to send a report to opps, then got to
 work.

 I had finished setting the last hole when I felt Jim's shuttle locking
 into the dock. A few moments later his head popped through the aft
 hatch and he dropped his helmet on the couch, shucking his bulky suit
 off. Digger op was a dangerous job but it paid the most so that's why
 I had gone for it. I'm Twenty nine now and this will be my last year
 with I SAM. With the credits I had in the bank I could take a year or
 two off, then find something else. There are plenty of opportunities
 for someone like me in this system. I met Jim a few years back and we
 had a torrid fling, for a while. He had been a spacer with the
 Imperial fleet, and had moved up in I SAM to operator quickly. He gave
 my shoulders a squeeze when he came up behind, and I pointed out the
 charges I had laid.

 "Good metal down there." I said. "Should make the old man happy."

 "You're off now, right?" Jim asked.

 "A four day at Crydon," I said. "Might pinch an extra shift, I hear
 the baths at Landon are heavenly." I stood and stretched, giving Jim
 the chair.

 "You might as well book off the extra day now," he told me. "The baths
 are wonderful. Drop by the Lambda Bar on Fleet street while you're
 there, you might find it fun."

 I was pulling on my pressure suit and my ears perked up. Jim knows
 all too well my tastes. "Fleet near 23'rd? I'll have a look." I said.

 Jim gave a short bark of a laugh as I grinned back at him. I had heard
 of the Lambda bar and that was actually my main destination this trip.
 I grabbed my helmet from the rack and said "See you next week."

 I cycled the dock air lock and climbed into my shuttle. The company
 gave me this ship when I was doing service calls four years back. You
 could buy your ship at the end of your career, if you wanted, and I
 planned to do just that. The ship was old when I got it, not
 luxurious, but it was solid and that's what counts when you're ten K
 cels from nowhere. I knew it from stem to stern, having worked on it
 enough times and with the mods I have made it will do 50 cel out of
 system. That's five thousand times light speed, in the old measure.

 I blew into ops to clock out, then went to quarters for a quick
 shower. I was back out less than an hour later, heading for Crydon, De
 Sade on the screen. Although I studied earth history in school it was
 only lately I have come to appreciate the valiant salvage operation
 that followed the Big Disaster. It was not just genetic material and
 early technology that was spirited to the colonies, but music, art,
 books on human history, and literature, such as the one I was now
 reading. That a tale written so long ago could move me so strongly now
 I found amazing. Times change, but people are still people.

 I had shucked my heavy pressure suit minutes after departure. I sat
 relaxed, curled in the chair in an over size tee shirt, nothing more.
 But in my mind, I was tied tightly, spread across Sade's heavy wood
 dining room table, the flickering candle light casting ominous shadows
 on the dark wood panelling of the room. Pauline strained at the thick
 ropes on her wrists and ankles, but there was no give in the
 unyielding hemp that streached her hands and her feet away from her
 naked form on the table. She slumped back in her bonds, a tear rolling
 down her cheek. She (I) looked up at a sound, the door opening behind
 her and a shadow moved into the room. I shivered as my fingertip
 brushed over my clit. My other arm raised to my chest under the shirt,
 touching, then squeezing the stiff buds there as the text continued to
 scroll on the console screen.

 Pauline moaned as the man came to her and tenderly stroked her
 tortured back. Her body jerked when he placed his hand between her
 spread thighs, cupping the folds of soft flesh there. His finger
 traced her slit, the lips parting, inviting. I slid in one finger, my
 thumb pressing the little nub against it. She arched her hips up
 towards his hand, mashing her breasts against the hard wood of the
 table. De Sade pushed in deeper, savouring the heat, the wetness, the
 girl's anticipation of what was to come, bringing her closer to the
 point, that moment of sweet, burning pleasure-pain, and the flood of
 release that would follow.

 Using his hands he drove the girl ever onwards, up the steep slope to
 a point where she was writhing and moaning her need. De Sade's hands
 abruptly left the girl's body leaving her momentarily stunned, lost,
 without the stimulation he had been providing. As Pauline bucked and
 moaned on the table De Sade reached down to unhook the whip at his
 belt. A moment later it whistled through the air, striking poor
 Pauline square across her upturned bum. She (I) let out a sharp cry as
 the sensation triggered the first wave of her (my) crashing orgasm.

 I closed my eyes, the reading program freezing the display in
 response, as I squirmed in the chair, lost in the power of the cum I
 was experiencing. I almost fell out of the chair, not a real tragedy
 in the low gee of the craft, imagining the feeling of that whip
 striking my back. I once experienced a stim-sim of a whipping program,
 modeled after something like in De Sade's book. It was in a red light
 district of Nexis, far out in the Sigma quadrant, before I worked for
 I SAM. It was a good simulation, leaving me sweaty and breathless but
 like all sims it couldn't substitute for the real thing. I would have
 never considered it in my younger days, but lately I have been having
 desires to drive myself, or more accurately, be driven, further into
 my more deeper fantasies.

 I opened my eyes and switched the display to navigation. Half hour
 to go. I switched back and read the rest of the chapter. After her
 whipping, Pauline is carefully untied and carried to her bed, retied
 there for the night. De Sade tenderly locks the cuffs on the wrists
 and ankles of his most treasured possession, the chains at the ends of
 the bed a little slack, giving her some freedom of movement for the
 night. He kisses her lips softly as he whispers goodnight, then rises,
 to blow out the candle, leaving Pauline alone with her thoughts.

 There has been no one in my life who could tame and inflame my
 passions, I thought, as I made ready to land. There have been men,
 yes, who I sometimes let come close, but often they were either too
 weak to just take me like I yearned for them to do, or they lost their
 nerve upon finding out I was one of the tough and rough breed of
 asteroid miners. I am one of those breed, can tear down a mass
 converter in my sleep. Yet sometimes, the fragile little girl in me
 peeks out, then begins to lead me off in a direction I don't know but,
 when I get a glimpse of, know that I want to explore farther.

 I met a programmer once, worked with him doing some mods in the
 smelter. We got to know one another pretty well that week. The sex was
 all that and more. After we had discovered a shared interest, our true
 passions, he offered to take me to a friend's place over on Quarrk.
 During the flight his ship lost it's drive and we were being pulled
 down the gravity well of a gas giant. He freaked out. Rather than
 continue in my demure female character and meet an untimely demise, I
 tore open an access panel and yanked the plasma flow shift valve.
 Singed my finger tips a bit, and broke a nail, but I re-machined the
 slides with a small file and greased the actuator with some butter
 from his galley. Then I jammed the valve assembly home before the
 unmodulated plasma could blow the compressor to bits and reached over
 his sobbing form to stabilize the engines. We pulled away from the
 planet and made the first nearby port safely to effect a more
 permanent repair.

 My companion was grateful I had saved his scrawny neck, but there was
 a definite cooling of the relationship. I had assisted him in his work
 at the smelter, but when I had taken over on his ship I had crossed
 some line that said he was the male and girls can't understand
 machinery. This was how it was in olden times yet even now some men
 still cling to this absurd notion. I grabbed the next commercial
 flight back, canceled my vacation and reported back to work. My
 supervisor noted my mood and assigned me light duties for a few days.
 In the end I was glad that I saw the fellows true character, before
 wasting too much time on him.

 Traffic was thick around Crydon, it being a most hospitable planet.
 Much like old Earth would have been, before things started to go bad.
 Oxygen rich, warm climate, and water everywhere, cool, clean water.
 Rivers of it, lakes full. One could scoop up handfulls anywhere and
 drink your fill. I got my vector from control and swooped under the
 cloud cover. Water beading against the view port. It was raining! I
 touched down in a grassy field near the hotel I was booked into.
 Wearing just my tee shirt I exited the craft. Bare feet on the soft
 wet grass, water soaking me at once. It was heaven. An electrical
 discharge flashed from the sky, down to a point several klicks east. A
 moment later the sound boomed across the field, a low rumbling in the
 pit of my stomach and the soles of my feet. I stuck out my tongue to
 catch the water as the rain washed away all of my stress.

 I saw a land vehicle detach from the hotel to circle around, then head
 my way. When it came nearby, the window opened and the man inside said
 "Miss Rytell?"

 "That's me." I replied.

 He slipped a beat, staring at me standing in the rain. My shirt had
 become almost transparent with the soaking I was getting.

 "I can give you a lift to the hotel, if you like." he said.

 I reached into my shuttle to grab my bag, then closed the hatch. The
 man opened the LV door for me and I sat down. By the time we reached
 the hotel the rain was starting to ease up and he let me off under the
 canopy in front. The man at the front desk was more subtle, snatching
 quick glances at my chest when he thought I wasn't looking, the chill
 of my wet shirt causing my nipples to stick out underneath. I logged
 in, then an attendant showed me up to my room. The room was nice with
 a door leading out to a balcony and fresh air, the smells of greenery
 revitalized from the rain. I tipped the attendant, then, when he'd
 gone, I stripped off my wet shirt and grabbed a towel to dry myself
 off. I sat at the terminal to book a time at the famous mud baths,
 then I punched to the Lambda bar's site.

 I had seen this page before but I hoped the local net contained more
 details. I was right. Daily listings, retro rock and roll band in the
 upstairs lounge and in the cellar, level two, S&M 201, an "interactive
 lecture". Yumm.

 But first things first. I pulled out a shirt and my ankle length skirt
 from my bag. I had brought a pair of hiking boots, but didn't expect
 to need them. I prefer barefoot whenever possible and this planet was
 perfect for that. Even when I'm operating a machine I found that I
 could sometimes detect a change in vibration through my feet that
 might alert me to trouble I could have missed. Plus I just like the
 feel, and I have noticed some men seem to like the look of a barefoot
 girl. I wiggled my toes in the soft carpet of the room. My two little
 silver titanium toe rings twinkled at the hem of the cotton skirt, a
 gift from me, to me, on my twenty fifth birthday.

 I went downstairs to the hotel dining room. Fresh and fresh are the
 key words to describe the food on Crydon. The planet doesn't have a
 season, it's summer all the time at this latitude. Nearer to the
 equator it is hotter. Every type of old Earth crop and plant, those
 that were saved that is, flourishes here. I stuffed myself with the
 bounty of fresh vegetables and fruit that the restaurant had to offer.
 After lunch, I was off to keep my appointment at the baths.

 One could hire a LV if you wanted privacy but there was little point.
 The planet, being a popular vacation destination, had a wonderful
 public transport system. I caught the subway train in the basement of
 the hotel, then changed trains in the city. A short hop on a quaint
 surface trolley took me to the mud baths near a small lake, just south
 of town.

 I had been to these baths about five years ago. Water from the lake
 percolates through faults in the planet's crust, finding it's way deep
 where the pressure and heat is great. The water picks up minerals from
 the rock, then is forced back up to the surface. The heat powers this
 complex as well as much of the town, while the thick mineral mud forms
 the sticky pools which people find so relaxing to wallow in. Some say
 that the minerals are absorbed by one's body to promote good health,
 and that may even be true, but the feelings of well being after a long
 soak in the warm ooze can not be denied. While I waited for the
 receptionist to check me in I could feel the low rumblings of the
 forces at work under the building.

 They had a new pool set up this year that the brochure described as a
 "confiningly orgasmic experience." When I stepped up to the desk I
 asked the girl there about it. She explained that a polymer was added
 to an indoor pool which thickened the mud considerably. If one was to
 lay still enough it would become quite hard around you. Once you
 started to move around, however, the mud would slowly begin to soften
 again. There was also a thumper in the pool which would set up
 standing waves of vibration in the mud. The girl lowered her voice a
 little, and I noticed her blush a bit. "If you position yourself just
 right," she said, "it can be a real mind blower."

 I told her that I might enjoy blowing my mind a bit and asked if there
 was a time limit. She said no, you can stay in as long as you can
 stand it. Then you just start flexing and moving a bit so the mud
 softens around you and you can get out. Sounds simple enough. She
 swiped my card and I was off. A short walk later I pushed open the
 door to the pool and stepped inside. The lighting was low but I could
 make out the shapes of three other women, their heads that is, their
 bodies below the surface of the mud. The room was large, the air
 smelling primordial. I saw an area lit from a skylight above, tall
 leafy trees and smaller ferns, around a waterfall, for washing
 afterwards. There was an attendant sitting at a desk near the door who
 smiled at me as I walked past. I unbuttoned my shirt and stepped out
 of my skirt, folding the clothes to place them on a shelf along one
 wall.

 I crossed over to the pool and tested it with my toe. The mud was just
 slightly cool to the touch. The big thumper was on the far side. I
 could see the waves from the vibrations rippling along the surface of
 the mud. One of the women nearby let out a low moan, her eyes screwed
 tightly shut. I stepped down into the pool, my leg slowly sinking in,
 to find a ledge around the edge. I eased myself into the pool. When my
 pussy dipped below the surface I felt the pulsing from the thumper
 much more clearly. This should be interesting, I thought. It took some
 effort to swim through the thick goo but I positioned myself where I
 had noticed the waves were crossing, reflecting off two sides of the
 pool. The dense mud was buoying my body up, but I managed to keep in a
 slightly crouched position long enough for the mud to harden around my
 feet. I was then able to straighten a bit so I was on a 45 degree
 angle, sort of. I leaned my head back and parted my thighs a little.
 As a last thought I eased my hands behind my back and grasped a wrist
 in each hand.

 The pulses from that crazy thumper were starting to effect me. The
 more the mud thickened around my body, the stronger the vibrations
 became. I had found the right spot all right, with the vibrations
 coming at me from three sides. The main pulse and one reflected pulse
 hitting my front, with the second reflection flowing down my back and
 butt. I could sense the slight delay as the main pulse tweaked my
 clit, then flowed up my belly to tickle my nipples. The mud around me
 had become almost hard now and I couldn't hardly move at all. I heard
 one of the other women let out a long, low yell but when I tried to
 turn my head I couldn't, the goo had hardened around my chin and the
 back of my head. I started to flex the muscles in my legs, and I did
 panic a bit, until I felt the mud soften a little. I spread my thighs
 a little more, then settled back down. I pulled hard with my arms but
 the grip was like steel. Yet if I slowly flexed my fingers, in a few
 moments the mud around them would get softer. Slow movement. That is
 how the mud stays soft, the pulses of the thumper are tuned to the
 polymer. The softness of my body dampened the pulses to allow the mud
 to bind together in a hard mass around me.

 With understanding came a calm which was quickly overtaken by a lovely
 little orgasm. I then noticed another feature of this pool. During
 that first cum my cunt muscles had contracted a few times, in the same
 slow rhythm as the vibrations flowing through me. I could feel that I
 had opened a little down there, and some of the mud had been drawn, or
 pushed inside. I flexed my inner thighs a little, slowly, yes. Yes,
 there was something going on down there. I relaxed into it and was
 soon in the throws of another cum, this time defiantly stronger and
 longer. On the next one I pulled and struggled, my arms pinned solidly
 behind my back, my feet and legs, every part of me firmly entombed in
 the hardened mud. And now more of the mud had found it's way inside my
 cunt, a noticeable amount, transferring the pulsations of the thumper
 inside me.

 It was my steady breathing that was keeping a reserve of mud liquid
 around my belly. Each time I came, my deep breathing would push some
 of that mud down to fill my cunt a little more. Then when the cum
 subsided what was in me would get hard again. Each time I came, and I
 was up to six now, I would get filled a little more. I really started
 to let my subconscious take over as I lay trapped in the mud, getting
 fucked by an ever growing cock, which was relentless, and never grew
 tired. Another cum, this one making me reel with the intensity of it.
 I strained to move but I was held fast in cement. I could only open my
 mouth a little with the mud gripping my chin, to moan loudly. Even at
 my ass a small finger of mud was pressing, probing to gain entry.
 Another cum, the strongest yet, my clit thrashing in the goo
 surrounding it, the vibrations pounding deep within me, all around me.

 My cunt felt full now, but not painfully so. The crest of another cum
 caused me to gasp and moan as I rode it out. My orgasms were coming
 quicker now, leaving me almost no time to recover before another
 started building in me. The firm pounding of that thumper was pressing
 all around, and deep inside, to my very core. Another massive cum,
 each time a little stronger and lasting a little longer than the
 previous one. I couldn't move at all, could only ride it out, gasping
 breathlessly even as another cum started to grow. This was heaven and
 I'm going to die, I thought. This is it. I rode the rush to the peak,
 then hung there for what seemed like an eternity. My clit was on fire,
 sending massive shock waves throughout my nervous system, charging my
 body to overload. I may have screamed, I don't know. I didn't know
 anything at that point. My muscles started twitching all over, the
 nerves firing seemingly at random. My entire being exploded in such a
 massive release that I actually blacked out.

 It was several minutes before I began to stir, coming back to ground.
 I was laying in a very comfortable bed, I thought. I raised my arm to
 find I was covered with some sticky substance. When I looked I found I
 was floating in the mud pool, it's density pushing most of me above
 the surface. I flexed my feet to break up the clump of mud surrounding
 them, then I rolled over and paddled to the edge of the pool. It was
 later on that I found out if one stays in long enough, their body
 takes on the rhythm of the thumper, becomes tuned to the frequency
 that reverts the polymer back to a liquid. Then you simply float up to
 the surface. I reached the edge and tried to pull myself out of the
 mud. I discovered I didn't have the strength. The attendant saw me and
 whispered that I should relax a few minutes, that I would be all
 right.

 On the second try I was able to push myself up to lay on the deck for
 a moment, before standing on shaky legs to move towards the waterfall.
 As I walked I could feel the clump of mud inside me break up and
 dribble past my pussy lips to run down my legs. I slumped down on a
 bench to let the warm water cascade over me, washing all the mud off
 as I caught my breath. One of the other women was sitting at the base
 of the waterfall and she smiled at me when I looked up.

 "Wasn't that wild?" she said.

 Her face and chest were flushed, her breathing quick and her eyes were
 sparkling. She was using a small hose to rinse out the mud from inside
 her. "Quite the trip." I answered. I sat under the water for a while
 until my strength returned, using one of the bubbling hoses on myself.
 Then I dried off and got dressed. I followed the signs leading to the
 bar and settled in one of the big comfy chairs. I ordered a brown cow,
 fresh creamy milk with a chocolate liqueur. The milk, lovely and
 refreshing, the alcohol, the bite I needed to bring me back to the
 land of the living. I had another, then left, feeling wonderful, to go
 take a massage.

 The masseur used handfulls of that special mud, mixed with oils and
 lightly scented, skilfully rubbing it into my tired muscles. He worked
 the slippery goo deep into my back and shoulders, down my arms and
 legs, into my hands and feet. Then he had me roll over to do my front,
 gently on my aching nipples and feather light over my throbbing clit.
 He hosed the mud off me off with a gentle warm spray. I felt the
 masseur's fingers moving my rings a little, flushing the mud out from
 beneath. A smile pulled at the corners of his mouth. It's good when
 you find some little pleasures in your work. He used a small stick to
 clean the mud from under my toe nails and finger nails, then he
 directed me outside the building to a big pond of clean steaming
 water. This was the hot, mineral enriched water that had finished it's
 trip inside the planet and now bubbled up, seeking the light of day
 once more. I splashed around and swam out to the center. The water
 over the vent was almost too hot to bear. I don't think I had ever
 felt so good.

 After my swim I dressed and left, catching the tram to the center of
 town. I had a big meal in a nice little restaurant, fresh salad with
 bread rolls hot from the oven. Then fish with sweet potatoes and
 little carrots, followed by melt in your mouth apple pie with real ice
 cream. Damn, you miss that working on an asteroid eleven months of the
 year. After supper I walked around an open air market taking in the
 sights. I picked up another long skirt, a deep green with a leafy
 design printed on it. Soft and not too heavy it was a hemp cotton
 blend, the vendor assuring me it would wear well. It came with a
 leather belt but I saw a black nylon weave one that I preferred, you
 never know when an adjustable cinch might come in handy to hold
 something together. In the end I bought the leather belt too. There
 was something about the feel of it, and the smell, that I found
 strangely attractive.

 It was quite late when I arrived back at my hotel, dead tired yet
 never feeling so alive in years. I watched some news on the terminal,
 then crawled into bed and slept like a rock.

Asteroid, Mine
 Asteroid, Mine  [chapter 2]

 I slept in late the next day, luxuriating in the full gravity, the
 fresh clean air, the big soft bed. Finally, around noon, I roused
 myself to go down for something to eat. After lunch I went back to my
 room, showered, and dressed in my new skirt, a nice blouse, and caught
 the train back to town.

 Fleet street runs the length of the city. I walked from the lake,
 taking in the sights and shops along the way. There was a concert in
 the town square which I stopped to watch for a while before making my
 way past 23'rd street and to the front door of the Lambda bar. The
 building's front was done in gray stone, in an imposing gothic style.
 Inside, the door opened to a huge room with a long bar the length of
 one wall. The lighting defined different areas, a big dance floor,
 clusters of tables, cosy niches. Glass doors led out the back to a
 jungle area lush with trees and plants, tables set amongst the
 greenery. I ordered a beer at the bar and purchased a ticket for the
 lecture that night, then followed my ears upstairs to the heavy beat
 of old time rock music.

 The second floor had high ceilings and another bar. A band played on
 the stage, belting out tunes from the late 20'th century. I loved
 those old songs, as did many people, judging from the crowd up there.
 I sat and listened for a while, danced a bit, got hit on, and danced
 some more with a few guys. But I wasn't here to find a date. Usually
 when a man gets persistent I tell him I'm an asteroid miner and they
 back off. There is still that stigma of rough miners that most men
 can't seem to handle, especially in a woman. However this time a guy
 became more interested and started asking me questions about life on a
 lonely asteroid. He was good looking, tall, about my age. He said his
 name was Mark Anderson and he lived on the Mars colony. He told me
 that he worked on the Earth reclamation project.

 I told Mark that I was going to have dinner here and he asked If he
 could join me. Downstairs in the garden I insisted that I pay for my
 own meal to which he replied, well ya, did I think he would pay for
 me. That broke the ice and I laughed. We talked through out dinner,
 mostly about our work. Mark was here on Crydon, partly on holiday, but
 mainly to see how a planet so beautiful worked. He was hoping to gain
 some new ideas to try out on old Earth. The planet had been seeded
 about a hundred years ago with genetically engineered bacteria to try
 to clear up the worst pockets of pollution and radioactivity. But it
 would still be a long while before it would support life again as it
 once did.

 Mark kept glancing at his watch and I asked him if he had to go
 somewhere. He said that there would be a talk in the auditorium
 downstairs that he didn't want to miss. I showed him my ticket.

 "This one?" I asked.

 "Well, ya." he drawled, lifting his from his shirt pocket.

 I smiled, and actually blushed a little. Our conversation took a
 definite turn at that point. Mark had also read some of De Sade's
 works, as well as other stories I was not familiar with. I listened as
 he described a story he'd found about a group of men who owned a
 riding stable on old Earth. But rather than training horses they
 trained women who had come to the farm to be treated like, and trained
 to become like horses, or as near as could be. Mark told me about the
 story, how the women were made to wear a leather harness on their
 bodies and had a harness for their heads with a leather covered bit
 that went in their mouth. I had been fingering my new leather belt and
 when I casually brought my fingers to my nose and sniffed, the smell
 sent a small chill down my back.

 By the time Mark had finished describing the story of the pony girl
 farm I was glad I had worn panties for a change. I had become rather
 wet down there and I excused myself to go to the ladies to freshen up
 a bit. Afterwards, we talked for a while longer, then it was time for
 the lecture to start. I let him take my arm as we went down the stairs
 to the dimly lit basement and found seats in the auditorium.

 The price of the tickets was not much, more of a formality to keep the
 idle curious out, I thought. I looked around the room and saw all
 kinds of people, young, old, wealthy, and not so. I had half expected
 to see mostly men, but about a third of the audience were women,
 perhaps wondering, like I, where these feelings were coming from when
 they lay in bed at night, on those nights when sleep would not come to
 still their desires. On the stage was a stool in front of the curtain
 and a microphone on a stand. At the appointed time an elderly man
 walked out onto the stage, set a glass on the stool, then took up the
 mic. He announced himself as Doctor Richard Kendrison and said he was
 a psychologist who had studied the relationships between people who
 wish to have control over another, and those who wish for another to
 have control over them.

 The speaker seemed to know his subject, perhaps a little too well. He
 spoke at length about the dynamics of three types of sexual
 relationships which were distinct, he said, yet often interrelated.
 Sadism and masochism which is the giving and receiving of pain.
 Bondage and discipline, the physical taking control of another person.
 And domination and submission that he described as a more spiritual
 type of control over another.

 "People have a need to freely explore their sexuality," he said, "in a
 way which seems right to them. Without someone else telling them that
 their thinking is wrong, that they are not normal. How one person
 derives his or her pleasures from their sexuality can be distinctly
 different from that of another. Because of these varied differences,
 humans have frequently found difficulty in finding a compatible
 partner to share their most inner feelings with. Many people do not
 wish to explore their secret desires or they internalize them, keeping
 them hidden, sometimes even to themselves. Then there are those, like
 you in the audience tonight, that wish to learn, to better understand
 the basis for those thoughts and fantasies that you have."

 When Doctor Kendrison had finished I did indeed have a better
 understanding of why I enjoy so much the thoughts I seemed to have so
 often. It was announced that there would be a short intermission,
 after which there would be a demonstration of one of the topics from
 the lecture. Mark said that he had to go since he was flying off early
 in the morning to do some tests. The lecture was to continue the next
 evening and I asked if he would return. He said that he would try to
 make it, and surprised me by giving me a little kiss before standing
 up to go. I waited for the demonstration to begin.

 After a while the curtain on the stage opened and I saw a heavy wooden
 apparatus mounted in the center. Two wood beams were in an upright X
 shape, supported from the rear. There was a small table a little ways
 away from the cross. Soon the house lights dimmed and spotlights
 highlited the center of the stage. A man and a woman walked out to the
 front of the stage. The man was wearing black pants with a short black
 vest, the woman was naked. He introduced the woman, a beautiful girl
 who looked to be perhaps a bit younger than me, as his wife, and told
 us that he would bind her to the device behind them and use a whip on
 her.

 "My lovely wife here has been whipped before," the man said, "by
 myself, and others, so she knows what to expect. Since this is only a
 demonstration I will not be as hard on her as she has had it on other
 occasions, however she will feel the pain, and her reactions will be
 quite genuine. If there are any of you that are a bit squeamish, you
 may wish to leave now."

 I looked around the auditorium. No one got up and left. With out
 further ado the man guided his wife to the wooden cross, a St. Andrews
 cross, he said. She stood facing it and spread her legs wide, her feet
 at the base of each beam. Her husband picked some wide padded cuffs
 from the table, then bent to secure her ankles to the posts. She
 stretched her hands up as he used a second set of cuffs to fasten her
 wrists high up over her head. Her golden hair spilled down her back,
 to the bottom of her butt when she tipped her head back. Her husband
 gathered the hair up, pinning it in a bun on top of her head. I
 watched in awe as he ran his hands lovingly down the pale flesh of
 her back and bum, then dipped a hand between her outstretched thighs
 to give her sex a tender squeeze. The girl looked back, their eyes met
 for a brief, knowing moment. It was time.

 The man left his wife to move to the table and select a whip. He chose
 one which was long, black, leather I guessed. It had a short stiff
 handle with the length of supple leather hanging down about a meter,
 touching the floor. He swung the whip over his head and snapped it in
 the air, the loud crack echoing around the silent hall. He snapped it
 a few more times. I felt my skin crawl at each crack.

 "A single strand whip such as this one can be rather dangerous for a
 novice to use," he said. "Snapping a whip like that could easily do
 permanent damage to flesh. A better technique is to swing the strap in
 an arc, letting the whip make flat contact without dragging it across
 the skin. Like so."

 He stepped closer to his wife to position himself on her left side. He
 then swung the whip in a wide arc towards her bum. The strap contacted
 her flesh with a sharp splat sound. The whip seemed to stick to her
 for a moment, then fell away to reveal a bright red line across both
 her cheeks. I saw the girl shudder a bit, then settle. Her husband
 swung the whip again. Crack. Another bright red line, this one an inch
 above the last. The man went to her and turned her body a little to
 show that the whip had struck her skin evenly, nearly from one hip to
 the other. I saw the couple lock eyes for just a second before he
 moved away again to take his place to the side of her once more.

 He began slowly, slashing his wife with the whip, then giving her a
 moment to adjust to the pain before hitting her again. Each time the
 whip struck, the girl would jerk and press her body against the wooden
 posts she was bound to. Then she would move back again, ready to
 receive the next blow. Her husband worked the whip up her bum and
 upper back, the strap leaving angry looking red lines, evenly spaced,
 to mark it's progress. I saw one blow, the end of the whip coming very
 near the girl's breast. I could hardly believe my eyes, on the next
 stroke she turned her body just a little, allowing the tip of the whip
 to caress her nipple. She moaned loudly and slumped down, hanging by
 her arms. Again the whip wrapped around her body, the tip delivering
 another dose of stinging fire to the poor girl's nipple. She jerked,
 then her legs spasmed. A glistening wetness appeared on her inner
 thighs and I knew the girl had orgasmed solely from the whipping she
 was receiving.

 The man delivered one more stroke of the whip, more gently this time,
 the end of the whip flicking between her legs, a firm caress to the
 center of her pleasure. Her hands grasped air and she screamed loud
 and low as she shook with the force of her cum. The man put the whip
 down on the table. His loving wife lay limp in her bonds as he moved
 to unlock her wrist cuffs from the cross. She melted into him as he
 carefully helped her sit, then he unlocked her ankle restraints. The
 audience began to applaud as the man helped his wife stand up. Her
 eyes had a glazed, far away look, but she managed a weak smile before
 being led off the stage by her husband amidst cheers and applause from
 the crowd.

 I stood to go. The crowd filed out of the auditorium and up the
 stairs, to the main floor of the bar. I needed a drink, badly, so I
 went to the bar and ordered a double Sarcusian Brandy, with a beer
 chaser. There was a band on stage there, playing music by a twentieth
 century group called Pink Floyd. The sound had a techno overtone, but
 a rich and deep undertone to it.. You couldn't exactly dance to it, but
 I soon found myself becoming caught up in the melodious music and
 stood, swaying gently to the sound. I snagged a stool at the bar and
 ordered another brandy 'n' beer. The complex chord changes, the
 alcohol, plus the show I'd witnessed downstairs had me so keyed up I
 could hardly bear it. I noticed a rather young fellow staring at my
 bare feet perched on the rail of my stool. I hiked up my skirt a
 little, then I wiggled my toes. He looked up at me, then away,
 embarrassed to have been caught. When he looked back at me I smiled at
 him. He took that as encouraging and a minute later came over to sit
 beside me.

 "Mind if I join you?" he asked. "My name's Peter."

 "Donna." I said as I nodded to a recently vacated chair beside me.

 "Do you like the band?" he asked. I shook my head, yes, and he went
 on. "I'm really into Floyd these days. Got all their old albums at
 home."

 So easy. "These guys are pretty good." I said. "I'd like to hear the
 originals some day."

 "We could . . . uhh. . . ."

 Comon buddy, don't loose your nerve now.

 He tried again. "I live not too far away. We could go over and I could
 play some for you."

 So Welcome, Tooo, The Machine. The haunting lyrics from the stage
 drilled into my brain. "Why Peter, I'd like that." I downed the rest
 of my beer. "Let's go."

 Peter was so sweet. He took my arm to lead us through the crowded bar
 and outside. We walked to the corner and caught the surface bus for
 the short ride across town, to his apartment. On the ride he kept
 glancing down at my feet. With all the walking around I did that
 afternoon they were quite dirty, but that didn't seem to deter him
 from devouring them with his eyes every chance he got. When we arrived
 in his apartment he asked me if I wanted a drink. "Beer is fine, if
 you have any." I said. I used his bathroom to pee, then I cleaned up a
 little, washing most of the grime from my feet, and freshening up a
 bit, down there, ditching the panties in a pocket of the skirt

 Peter handed me a cold one as I sat down on the couch beside him. The
 sound of sheep bleating came from the big speakers of his player.
 Melodious notes of a synthesiser. I lifted my legs up and turned,
 planting my feet across his lap. Peter's hands immediately were on them,
 the poor dear looking like he had been given a most wondrous present.
 I relaxed into the end of the couch, sipping my beer. Peter gave me a
 lovely, long foot massage. I could feel him playing with my rings,
 sliding them up and down a bit, turning them around on my toes. Then
 he bent to softly kiss my big toes. I opened my eyes to meet his, and
 I smiled. He raised my foot, parted his lips, and gently drew my big
 toe into his mouth. The tempo of the song abruptly dropped, sheep
 again, in the distance. I closed my eyes, letting the soothing
 rhythm, and peter's talented tongue, take me away.

 I could feel an immense bulge in Peter's pants so I rubbed it with my
 other foot, making him groan with pleasure. After he had lovingly
 sucked all ten of my toes and licked all over my feet he stopped to
 look into my eyes once again. "Would you like to move to the bed?" I
 asked. He took my hand and we stood. He led me to the next room and
 his bed. We undressed slowly, savouring each other's bodies as they
 were revealed. I lay down on his bed. Peter lay on top of me, his
 hands on my breasts, kneading the soft flesh. He took one nipple into
 his mouth and sucked gently while fingering the other. I ran my
 fingers through his hair and down his back. His head moved lower, soft
 kisses down my belly, to sniff the musky sent from between my legs.
 Then his tongue flicked out to brush my clit, making me jump, my need
 apparent.

 I opened for him as his tongue licked along my slit. He tickled that
 little nub, then sucked it into his mouth to drive me wild with
 desire. My thighs began to quiver and I grabbed his head to push his
 face harder against me, then pulled, dragging him up to me, to roughly
 kiss his mouth, smelling my own scent on him. He reached down to run
 his cock head along my wet pussy, then began to push himself into me.
 I writhed beneath him, bucking my hips up to draw his length in
 deeper. He started pumping in earnest then, we rutted like animals. In
 a short time I was on the verge of a major cum, then moaning loud as
 it crashed through me. Peter slowed, riding me out, then picked up
 speed again, pounding me, clutching my shoulders to drive deeper into
 me. I felt the muscles of his back tighten, his motions becoming
 slightly erratic as he swelled inside of me. Then his seed burst forth
 in a massive flood as he came and came inside of me, triggering
 another flood of release which shook me to my very core.

 After a while, after we basked in the afterglow of our sweet
 lovemaking, Peter got up to change the record while I used the
 bathroom again, to clean up. I then joined him on his couch. The disc
 he'd put on was called Dark Side of the Moon, music from a time long
 ago. Man's first tentative steps to reach beyond his planet. We
 snuggled together to let the music work it's magic once again. I heard
 the song that the bar band had been playing when I picked up Peter. I
 brought my head down to his lap, then took him into my mouth. Welcome
 my son, welcome to the machine. Peter was perhaps eighteen, twenty at
 most. I glanced up to look at him. His eyes were closed, he was in
 heaven. I continued.

 His hand gently stroked my bum. He slid his hand down my crack,
 between my legs, pressing, exploring with a finger. I took him deep
 into my throat and hummed along to the song whole he moaned the bass
 beat. He fingered my clit, sending shockwaves up my spine. I was
 ready. Peter, more so. I got up and knelt over his legs, pressing and
 rubbing my nipples on his face. He licked, then nibbled as I reached
 behind to guide his stiff cock into me. I slid myself down his
 throbbing shaft, impaling myself on it. His lips sought out mine and
 we locked in a passionate kiss. Then I started a slow, teasing, up and
 down motion on him, enjoying him, and his reactions to me.

 My tits were smacking his chin as my tempo increased. He pressed the
 fleshy globes against his cheeks and started thrusting his hips up to
 meet mine. Peter then gripped my waist, hugging me close, pushing down
 to drive deeper into me. He reached farther down to grip my ankles,
 then to caress my heels, and finally, the soles of my feet with his
 fingers. I ground myself against him, then threw back my head and
 howled as the power of my orgasm washed through me. Peter squeezed my
 feet hard as he lifted up a bit, pushing in deep to fill me with
 another load of his hot cum.

 The record finished as I held Peter's head against my shoulder. I got
 off him a while later, to go wash his cum out of me. He made us a
 snack of fresh bread and sweet strawberry jam, green tea. I looked
 through his music collection while he played a few songs from other
 old Earth groups. Then we went to his bedroom to get some sleep. At
 some point in the wee hours I was a wakened by tender caresses along
 my back. Peter and I made gentle sweet love once more before he
 dropped off into a deep sleep. I woke again, the early dawn light
 streaming in the window, the birds singing outside. Carefully, I got
 up, put on my clothes, and left.

 Outside, walking in the fresh morning air helped clear my head. A few
 streets over from Peter's apartment I caught the subway train back to
 my hotel. I slept the sleep of the dead, the well fucked dead that is,
 waking in the early afternoon to shower, get dressed and go. I wore a
 pair of tight faded denim jeans, my black tee shirt with the i-sam
 logo emblazoned on the front, a big digger perched impossibly on a
 small asteroid, a star field behind. Nothing more. Then I went down
 and took the train back to town.

 [End part 1/4]

Asteroid, Mine
 [part 2/4]
		   --=--

 Asteroid, Mine  [chapter 3]

 I picked an area of town at random, then got off to find myself in a
 somewhat seedy part of town. As I walked down the street I felt right
 at home. This seemed to be the industrial sector, the faint metallic
 smell in the air hinting at activities inside the brick buildings
 lining the road. Men were streaming from one place, shift change, I
 thought. I stopped one rather sour looking gentleman and asked where a
 good place to eat was. He looked me over from head to toe, my toe
 rings glinting in the afternoon sun. His face brightened a little and
 he looked up and pointed to a nearby corner.

 "Pat's bar, if you like hot and spicy." he said. "There's a fish
 joint on the next block that ain't half bad."

 I thanked him. The fresh food hadn't upset me yet so I thought I'd
 press my luck and try Pat's. Dusty windows, even sawdust spread on the
 floor. I ordered a beer and from the menu, scrawled on a chalk board,
 hot and sour soup, curried lamb, and a rice noodle dish. I took my
 beer to a table by the wall. There were a few men and women in the
 bar, just getting off work, or waiting to go on. I drank my beer,
 trying not to seem like a tourist, although in my bare feet I didn't
 exactly fit in with the crowd. I toyed with the sawdust under the
 table. I caught the barkeep's attention and pointed to my empty mug. A
 full one was brought over, heady and ice cold. They must have a pipe
 direct to the brewery. My lunch arrived and I dug in. The soup was hot,
 and sour, sufficiently so to bring a tear to a glass eye.

 The lamb was great, the noodles spicy, and with big chunks of chicken.
 I finished it all, washing the food down with two more frosty mugs of
 the wonderful beer. The men in the bar had stopped looking at me.
 Apparently I seemed to fit in after all. I paid for the meal, glancing
 at a map of the town pinned to the wall. The spaceport was just two
 streets over. I thought I'd walk over and take a look before heading
 back to the Lambda bar. When I came to a laneway between two factories
 I cut through. I was near the other end when a rough hand grabbed me
 around my throat, pulling me over to the side. I felt the blade of a
 knife press against my back.

 "Gimme your wallet." the man said.

 I only had my cash card, the key card to my shuttle, and some loose
 change in my pocket, but that's not the point, is it. Working in low
 gravity you need to do regular exercise to keep fit, and I spent a lot
 of my free time in the grav gym on base. Too much of my free time,
 actually. I also had some training in self defence, although I had
 never had occasion to put it to use. The schlub who'd grabbed me
 seemed blissfully unaware of all that. Slowly I dug in my pocket to
 let a few coins spill out and clatter on the pavement. I felt buddy
 move as he let his eyes follow the rolling coins. Lightning fast I
 drove my elbow into his stomach, then sprang to my right. His knife
 slashed the air where I had been millisecond before, his arm, meeting
 no resistance, swung in a wide arc. Before the poor slob had a chance
 to recover his balance my foot lashed out, then back, but not before
 delivering a crushing blow to his nuts.

 The man dropped slowly to his knees and slumped forward. As a final
 insult I dove in to two hand chop the back of his neck. He went down
 like a bag of hammers, his knife spinning from his limp fingers,
 landing before me. As I bent to pick up the change I'd dropped I
 noticed the cheap knife, low carbon steel. Looser, I thought. Serves
 him right. I didn't think I killed him, I thought, as I walked away,
 but if I had I'd probably done him a favour. There's plenty of honest
 work around here that no one should have to roust sweet innocent girls
 like me for cash cards.

 I left my friend slumped over in the alley. I had heard him groan so I
 expected he would live to die another day. The spaceport bordered the
 next street over, but the gate was far on the other side, and I had
 lost interest in hanging around here. I watched the passenger shuttles
 take off for a while, hauling people up to the big transports in
 orbit. Then I caught a bus at the corner heading for Fleet street.

 The bus let me off a few blocks up from the bar. I stopped in a record
 store along the way, picking up some of the discs that I liked from
 Peter's collection and arranged for delivery to my hotel. A little
 farther down was a sex shop which I looked around in, nervously
 handling the finely crafted leather things they had there. I picked up
 a thin black leather strap which fit nicely around my wrist. The snap
 fastener had an ingeniously hidden mechanism which required a small
 key to be fitted underneath to open it. I picked out two of them, the
 colour going well with the shirt I was wearing. At the counter the
 girl showed me how the snaps closed and opened even though I had
 already figured it out myself. She clipped off the tags, then put one
 on each of my wrists, snapping them closed and handing me the tiny
 keys. After I paid her I walked outside, feeling a little self
 conscious for a while, until I noticed that no one was really paying
 any attention to the two straps, leather cuffs, on me.

 The spicy food I had eaten earlier was beginning to make it's effect
 known on my stomach so I stopped in a little cafe and had some green
 tea with a light pastry bun that helped to settle things down. After
 a while I left the tea shop to walk the last block to the Lambda bar.
 At the bar I ordered a brown cow, easy on the Kahlua, then found a
 quiet corner to relax in. The band on stage was just finishing their
 set, more modern stuff this time but after a short pause another group
 took over, a jazz band, oldies from early twentieth century.

 The tea I'd had earlier, plus the smooth fresh milk settled my stomach
 nicely and I began to get into the rhythms coming from the stage
 nearby. A little while later I heard a voice call my name as Mark made
 his way to my table to join me. He was admiring my tee shirt so I
 shook my tits underneath, making the starfield time shift, a trick
 that always cracks me up when I do it in the mirror. That did get a
 laugh out of him.

 Mark told me that the ship his group had chartered for the survey had
 been unavailable due to nav-com problems so he had to take the mag lev
 to the south to do his readings in the desert region. He talked a
 little of the beauty of the arid lands which circled the planet at
 it's equator and was disappointed that he was only able to explore a
 small part of it with the land vehicle he'd been able to hire. I would
 have liked to see more of the planet myself but my shuttle wasn't
 authorised for atmospheric flight. I mentioned to Mark that I had my
 own shuttle to which he said that his group could get permission for
 me to fly him and his partner to do his survey. I would be well
 compensated for my time as well as the use of my ship, he said.
 Although I wasn't hard up for credits the extra cash would be welcome,
 and I would get to see sights I wouldn't have ordinarily.

 "We could lift off at dawn." he said. "There is a research station in
 the north, near the pole that I need to visit. Then south west to the
 coast, the fisheries management building. After that, a fly by of the
 desert, along the equator, then home by dinner. Around the continent
 in one day." He used his phone to call air control to arrange for a
 permit for my shuttle.

 Mark seemed pleased when I agreed to take him on his trip. He told me
 about some of the sights we would be seeing such as the fish farms on
 the coast supplying food as well as stock for export to other worlds.
 We moved from the noise of the dance area to find a quiet niche in the
 garden to have dinner. Mark had a steak with onions and potatoes while
 I nibbled on a plate of chicken salad. I gave into temptation however,
 with fresh strawberries in cream, which were delicious. Tea with the
 meal, a small brandy after, I felt myself again.

 Mark had noticed the two bracelets I was wearing and said they were
 nice. During a pause in the meal he took my hand to finger the leather
 strap, examining the snap closure. He asked if I had got them at the
 store up the street. Apparently he was familiar with the merchandise
 there. I dug in my pocket to show him the little keys that opened the
 catch. Mark cautioned me not to loose them, that there was a flexible
 titanium band under the leather covering, that made the bracelets
 rather difficult to cut through if the key became misplaced. I had
 known that they were well crafted judging from the price I'd paid but
 knowing this extra feature gave me a new perspective on the two black
 bands which adorned my wrists. Looking closer I noticed the barely
 discernable rivets that held the snaps to the metal band underneath.

 I used the key to open one, then examined the clasp more closely. I
 now saw that the snap was made from titanium also, light weight yet
 super strong. The strap had molded itself to my wrist easily yet there
 was no lateral movement to the innocent looking leather. Mark took the
 bracelet from me to look closer at it.

 "Yup, old Jimmy sure does fine work." he said with a grin.

 He took my hand and wrapped the bracelet around my wrist. When Mark
 pushed on the snap, the solid click seemed to reverberate straight
 through to my brain. I carefully tucked the two tiny keys into an
 inside pocket of my jeans.

 It was almost time for part two of the lecture to start. We went to
 the basement auditorium and found seats, near the front. I began to
 tell Mark of the show, the whipping scene he missed last night after
 he had to leave. Mark amazed me again when he said he'd known Steve
 and Cindy, the couple who'd done the demonstration, from collage. He
 told me of a party he'd been to last year where Steve had put the whip
 to first his wife, then to two other guests who were curious as to how
 it felt. I was eager to hear more but just then tonight's speaker took
 the stage to begin the lecture.

 It's funny how you can go for years gathering bits and pieces of a
 puzzle, trying to interpret the picture from a few fragments. Then one
 day you discover enough parts to suddenly begin to understand the
 whole. "The subject of tonight's talk is bondage," the speaker intoned.
 "I will attempt to show several methods and positions that a body can
 be bound, and I will explain the use of a few devices that one may
 purchase, or fabricate from commonly available materials. Afterwards
 there will be a discussion into the motivation and the feelings that
 makes bondage so pleasurable for many people."

 The curtains parted to reveal a table piled with various articles, and
 a nude woman seated in a chair, tied to it with meters and meters of
 white rope. A black blindfold covered her eyes and a bright blue ball
 was strapped in her mouth.

 For the next two hours the speaker used items from the table to bind
 his assistant in ever more constricting positions. One time a bar was
 lowered from the roof, the type of bar stage scenery would be hung
 from. The man lashed the girl's arms behind her back. She was quite
 limber, he explained as he easily drew her upper arms together, her
 elbows touching, and tied them off with rope. He then bound her ankles
 to the bar with her feet far apart. The bar was then raised up until
 she was swinging freely, suspended upside down by her ankles. Another
 time he used thin but adequately strong string to bind the girl's
 thumbs together, behind her back. He looped the ends of the string
 around her waist to tie it tightly around her, pulling her hands to
 the middle of her back. Then she was seated on a mat on the floor and
 her big toes were tied together, pulling her feet close to her waist.
 I saw her squirm a little to settle into as comfortable a position as
 was possible. As the man spoke about her bondage I saw her close her
 eyes and there was a smile on her lips. She seemed to be enjoying her
 predicament.

 The man would always keep a close eye on the girl when ever she was
 bound. He explained the need to be certain no harm came to one's
 subject due to a rope that was too tight, impeding the circulation, or
 some other event. He spoke on the safety requirements of any type of
 suspension, that there should be no chance of something breaking or
 slipping loose, causing a nasty tumble. A screen was lowered and a
 series of pictures were presented, people tied in elaborate and rather
 artistic ways. There was indeed, he said, bondage for art's sake. Some
 of the rope work adorning the bodies of those in the pictures was
 quite beautiful.

 When the demonstration was completed there was a short question and
 answer period where the man took questions from the audience. Several
 of the discussions were quite interesting to me. There seemed to be
 many people in attendance who, like me, knew that they wanted to
 explore their fantasies farther, but were unsure just how far to go
 with them. At the end of the lecture the speaker and his lovely
 assistant received an hearty ovation from the crowd. Mark said to me
 that he was going to visit with a friend and he invited me to come
 along. I said sure, why not. He said that his friend lived close by so
 we walked the few blocks to a tree lined street and his friend's two
 story house. Mark introduced me to his friend, Ceylon, a strikingly
 beautiful woman around fifty, and her husband Tim. Tim was shorter
 than me, also around fifty or so.

 Ceylon took immediate charge of me, ushering me into the large sitting
 room at the front of the house. Like me, she was also barefoot and I
 couldn't help but notice that she wore rings on each of her toes, some
 quite ornate and beautiful looking. She had, on the toes of her right
 foot, a green coloured kind of bar shaped thing with holes in it,
 three holes which her three middle toes went through. Naturally she
 noticed me staring and when we sat on the couch she raised her foot
 for me to look closer.

 Mark and Tim had gone to the kitchen to fetch drinks while I examined
 Ceylon's jewelry. Camel jade, she said of the green bar, it had an
 intricate carving along the top edge and it had been shaped to follow
 the contours of her toes perfectly. The rings she wore behind the pale
 green bar were lovely. The one on her pointer toe was gold with a
 rather large diamond set in it. I touched the jade bar with my
 fingers, seeing how tightly it fit around her toes. I asked her where
 she got it to which she replied that it was found amongst some
 antiquities in a museum storage room on old Earth.

 "Tim bought it for me at an auction several years ago." she said. "I
 believe it's very old, from a country called China, but no one really
 knew. At the auction they didn't even know what it was for but Tim
 guessed what it's true use may have been." Ceylon lifted my feet to
 examine the rings I wore. They were just plain silver rings, not
 anything fancy like she had. I told her that I had them made for me
 from a small nodule of silver titanium alloy I'd found on an asteroid.
 She smiled when she saw how perfectly they hugged my two toes and said
 they suited me nicely.

 Tim and Mark returned from the kitchen carrying a tray of snacks and
 drinks. I saw Tim smile when he saw me and his wife, our feet in each
 other's laps. He handed Ceylon and I glasses of red wine, then set the
 tray of food on the low table in front of the couch. Mark sat beside
 me, Tim took a chair nearby. Mark gave my neck a little nibble, then
 reached in front to run a finger over Ceylon's camel jade toe ring.

 "Tim and I worked together for a few years," He said, "salvaging what
 we could from Earth. We brought back shiploads from museums in what
 was once America. By that time much of the paper and magnetic records
 had deteriorated so the researchers could only guess at the
 significance of things that we recovered. Who could have carved this
 from a piece of green stone and how long ago?"

 Mark hooked his finger under the jade bar and gave Ceylon's toes a
 tickle. Her hand gently squeezed my foot. Tim looked on. You could cut
 the wierdness in the room with a knife, I thought. But I also felt it
 was a nice, cozy wierdness. Tim got up to retrieve a book from a
 shelf. The room was filled with shelves piled with books and objects,
 beautiful sculptures, ancient looking furniture, all from old Earth, I
 guessed. I put my feet on the floor as Tim handed the big book to his
 wife. Inside, Ceylon showed me pictures of things and places from
 Earth, photos that Tim had taken when he worked there. Tim refilled my
 wine glass.

 Mark was leaning over me looking at the album as Ceylon turned the
 pages. His hand was on my thigh, sliding it up and down occasionally.
 Ceylon moved closer to me, putting her arm around my shoulders. I saw
 the pictures of ruined cities, once majestic buildings, and objects
 whose beauty defied description. One photo showed a ship, an old ocean
 sailing ship carved from the same green stone Ceylon's toe ring bar was
 made from. There were chains hanging from the masts, chains made from
 rings carved and polished from what looked like one solid piece of the
 jade stone. The whole ship was half a meter high and a bit longer. A
 scale had been placed on the table in front the ship when the picture
 was taken. I looked up at Ceylon, her lips finding mine in a gentle
 kiss. Mark's hand squeezed my thigh, up high, very near to my pussy.

 We looked at the last few pictures in the album. On the last page was
 a shot of the planet as seen from space, the moon in the foreground. I
 drank the last of the wine in my glass. I don't know if it was the
 strong drink or the heady atmosphere of the house with all the old
 earth relics around but when Tim suggested that we all go upstairs to
 the bedroom I felt that it seemed like the most natural thing to do.
 Tim led the way with Ceylon taking my arm to follow and Mark behind
 us. We went up the stairs to the big bedroom that took up the back
 half of the second floor.

 Ceylon was wearing just a simple purple dress made from a thick, soft
 cotton, that she pulled over her head before we were even in the room.
 Tim slipped off his sandals, then pulled off his shorts and shirt. I
 turned to Mark who had his shoes and shirt off and was unzipping his
 pants. I unbuttoned my jeans, then sat on the bed to pull them off. I
 pulled my tee shirt over my head. Tim opened a drawer to pull out a
 piece of rope, then tossed it at Mark. Mark came to me and had me move
 up on the big bed, until I was leaning against the headboard. Ceylon
 moved to lay partially on top of me and held my arms up over my head
 while Tim took a chair in the corner to watch. Mark slid the two ends
 of the rope through my leather bracelets, then tied a knot, pulling it
 tight, drawing my wrists together. He then tied the rope to the top
 rail of the heavy headboard, then brought the ends to the side, tying
 them off there too. In less than a minute I was naked and helplessly
 tied to these people's bed, people I'd only just met.

 Ceylon sat back on her haunches to watch me come to the realization
 that I had suddenly lost all control of my situation. Mark was
 stroking her back with one hand while alternately caressing her tummy
 and her breasts with the other. Ceylon started stroking my thighs. Her
 hand moved up to cup my pussy, making me gasp. I pulled with my hands
 but the rope held tight. The bracelets I had bought myself now
 inprisoned me, held my wrists close together in their grip. Ceylon
 moved up my body, dragging her stiff nipples along me to softly kiss
 me on the lips. She kissed me again, more forcefully this time, her
 tongue pressing on my lips while rubbing my slit with a finger. My
 mind was in turmoil, at first. Then her finger's gentle probing
 started to have a soothing effect on me and I parted my lips to allow
 her tongue entry into my mouth. As her mouth pressed harder to mine I
 felt her finger press into me, slipping in easily. Her thumb nail
 scraped across my clit. I moaned and moved to touch her, the rope
 jerking my hands to a stop above my head. I moved my leg up until my
 foot found her's, my toes tracing along the smooth little jade bar
 surrounding her toes.

 Mark's hand had been busy at Ceylon's pussy. I felt him push his head
 between us to take my nipple in his mouth and gently start licking,
 then sucking on it. Ceylon moved down to do the same on my other
 nipple. Both their hands were on me, my waist and tummy, and lower, at
 my thighs and pussy, rubbing, touching me. I turned my head to look
 and saw Tim, calmly sitting in his big chair, his cock in his hand,
 watching. I closed my eyes and pulled at my bonds, gently at first.
 Then I remembered the titanium band and clasp, ten times harder than
 steel. I pulled harder, twisting my wrists inside the bracelets. I
 wasn't going to get free until someone untied me.

 Ceylon got up to move to the end of the bed. She grabbed my ankles and
 pulled me lower down until my arms were stretched straight up, my
 hands useless, high over my head. Then she knelt over my body, her
 back facing my head. She pushed my thighs apart, then bent down to
 press her head in between. I jumped a little when I felt her lips
 touch my pussy to kiss me softly there. I saw her sex just inches from
 my face, her swollen lips parting open as I watched. She was shaved
 down there with her outer lips pierced and a small silver ring
 decorating each one. Her tongue flicked out across my clit, making me
 jump again. Mark had sat back on the bed, content to watch us two
 women for a while. Tim had not moved from his chair.

 I had never before made love to another woman. Ceylon started in on
 me, instinctively knowing exactly what felt good. I could smell her
 arousal and I strained my neck up to touch her there with my tongue.
 She paused for a moment when she felt the contact, looking back at me
 underneath her. Our eyes locked and I smiled at her. She slid her
 knees past my head, bending her legs so her feet were up and her cunt
 came down on my face. Then she bent her head back down to continue
 lapping at my cunt. I stuck out my tongue to touch the rings that
 pierced her lips. I could hear the soft tinkle when they touched
 together. I pushed my tongue in further, past her rings and into her
 tight channel. Then down to find her sensitive nub, the little bump,
 bigger than mine, engorged with blood. Ceylon moved her feet against
 my hands. My fingers toyed with her toe rings while my tongue flicked
 over her two rings there. Her tongue was doing wondrous things to
 me. I found a little slack in my rope and I grabbed her ankles to pull
 her body up, to press her harder against my face while her head
 pressed harder into me. I sucked her clit into my mouth and pressed my
 nose up inside her as I flicked my tongue around and across that
 little button. Ceylon was doing the same thing to me. It wasn't too
 long before, first I, then she, exploded in a lovely orgasm, drenching
 each other's faces with sweet girl cum.

 Tim was ready with a towel to wipe my face off after he lifted his
 wife off me a bit so I could breath. Ceylon brought her knees up to
 raise herself off my head. Then Mark, who had been waiting so
 patiently, got on his knees over my head and aimed his dick at
 Ceylon's upturned pussy. She raised herself on her hands to let Mark
 enter her, then she eased her head back down to press her face once
 more on my cunt. Mark started to thrust into her, his balls hanging
 down and brushing back and forth across my face as Ceylon began to
 lick me again. I strained my head up to lick Mark while he fucked
 Ceylon. Once, I caught one of his nuts between my lips, sucking it
 gently into my mouth. He paused with his cock partially out of
 Ceylon's cunt. I strained up a bit more to lick the underside of his
 shaft and down to her clit. Ceylon jumped at this unexpected touch,
 moaning with my clit between her teeth. I let my head fall back to the
 bed as Mark picked up speed again.

 I felt a tongue lick my foot. Tim was sitting at the end of the bed,
 caressing his wife's head while licking my feet. I felt him lift my
 foot up a little to take one of my toes, one with a ring on it, into
 his mouth and suck gently. His wife reached to take his cock in her
 hand and started jacking him off while he continued to suck each of my
 toes into his mouth, pushing his tongue in between and licking my feet
 all over.

 Ceylon's talented tongue on my pussy, combined with the sight of
 Mark's cock sliding past Ceylon's labia rings inches from my eyes and
 Tim's ministrations at my feet soon had me pulling hard with my bound
 hands in the throes of a massive cum. Seconds later I opened my eyes
 to see Mark's balls seem to swell and he began spraying his cum inside
 Ceylon, her hot breath and her cries of ecstacy against my
 oversensitive clit making me cum quickly again, even harder. When I
 opened my mouth to scream Mark pulled out of Ceylon, then pushed
 himself into my mouth to squirt the last of his cum into me. I sucked
 his massive cock into my mouth as it twitched and spasmed, pumping the
 last two shots of his cum down my throat. There was a low moan from
 the end of the bed and we all looked up to watch Tim's cock, being
 stroked by his wife's hand, shoot ropes of cum over all of us, the
 toes of one of my feet stuffed inside his mouth.

 Finally a towel was passed around to wipe up all the cum that was
 everywhere. It was Mark who wiped me off and then untied my wrists
 from the headboard. We lounged together on the bed for a while, then
 we all took a turn in the bathroom to clean up and head down to the
 kitchen for something to drink. Mark and I shared a soft drink since
 we had to get up early for his trip. It was after midnight before we
 left Tim and Ceylon's house.

 Mark had phoned his hotel a couple times, finally reaching his partner
 to tell her about my agreeing to fly them around for their survey. We
 walked to his hotel which was near to the subway station. Mark invited
 me up to meet his partner but I wanted to get back to my own hotel and
 a nice warm shower so I declined. I told him where I was staying and
 he said he'd see me around seven.

 On the train ride to my hotel my mind was swirling with thoughts. I
 got the impression that Mark's partner was a woman and that maybe she
 was his wife. But that was not the only thing bothering me. Ceylon and
 Tim seemed to have such a nice open relationship. Their house was
 certainly interesting with all the old Earth relics around. I had
 never even had thoughts about being sexual with another woman but when
 Ceylon had positioned her pussy close to my face what I did just
 seemed so natural, and it was quite nice too. Of course what she did
 with her tongue to my pussy had given me feelings I hadn't had
 before. I came, sure, but it was a different kind of cuming, a slower,
 gentler climb to a most satisfying crashing plateau.

 The train neared my stop and I got up. When I put my hand on the bar
 beside the door my eyes were drawn to the black leather bracelet on my
 wrist. I stared, like I'd never seen it before. Ceylon had held me
 down while Mark used my bracelets to tie me to the bed like it was a
 most obvious thing to do. I hadn't put up a fight, I remember calmly
 watching him do it. After he finished I started to realize I had let
 myself fall totally under these people's power. Mark, who I'd known
 for one day and the other couple who I had just met. They could have
 taken my ship, the access card was in my jeans and the comm password
 is easy enough to crack. They could all be out system before I had
 screamed myself hoarse. The train doors opened but I stood there. What
 was I thinking, I asked myself. It's not like me to let myself get
 into situations that I have no control over. Someone pushed past me
 through the door. I got my feet moving, stepping off the train onto
 the cool stone of the platform. I watched the train pull out.

 After I had been tied up I remember Ceylon sitting back and watching
 me for some time. She was waiting, I now realized, waiting for me to
 say something, to freak out. But I hadn't, had I. I had been thinking
 about the pretty girl I saw that night, on the stage at the bar, being
 tied and retied in all those different ways. And here I am, I had
 thought, naked, tied to this bed while three nude people wait to see
 what I'd do. It was only after Ceylon was sure I was all right that
 she began to do those wondrous things with her tongue, hitting me in
 all the right places as only another woman would know how to do. I
 found the stairs and started up, to the lobby of the hotel. I bought a
 small bottle of milk from a vending machine, then went up to my room.
 I took a quick shower, then drank my milk and crawled into bed.

 Many pieces of the puzzle had been discovered today, I thought as I
 drifted off to sleep. The puzzle of what drives me sexually, why I have
 the feelings and desires that I do. I was beginning to understand.

Asteroid, Mine
 Asteroid, Mine  [chapter 4]

 I was awakened by the incessant beeping of my room's terminal, my six
 A.M wake up call. I got up, washed the sleep from my face, and
 dressed. I put on the long skirt I had worn my first day here and a
 blue cotton shirt. I packed my bag. I thought I'd check out of the
 hotel today, then, if I wasn't offered a bed tonight I would just
 sleep in the ship or maybe start for home later on. Home. A barren
 asteroid in the ass end of the next system. If nothing else, my time
 on Crydon has reminded me of what I've been missing for the last few
 years. Steady gravity, fresh clean air, great food, not the dried up
 bland crap I'd gotten use to.

 I went down to the front desk to check out. I left word for Mark to
 meet me in the dining room where I ate a lovely breakfast of eggs, ham
 and fresh grapefruit. I was just finishing when Mark and his partner
 showed up. They had already eaten but sat and had some coffee with me.
 Mark introduced his partner Judy to me. She was young, early
 twenties, slim and not so tall. Her long blond hair that was tied in a
 pony tail fell to her waist. Mark showed me the flight plan of where
 we had clearance to go. Then we got up to leave. In the lobby there
 was a pile of stuff, Mark and Judy's bags, and a big crate of
 instruments for the survey. Mark grabbed the two bulky bags while Judy
 struggled with the heavy crate. I had just my small bag so I helped
 her carry one end of the crate. When I took the handle I noticed her
 glance up at Mark. I followed her eyes and saw him give a little nod.
 It almost was as if she was asking him if I could help her, I thought.

 We walked out into the clear sunlight outside and across the field to
 my ship. I keyed the lock with my card and punched in the password. I
 noticed Mark eying the dents and scratches on the hull.

 "It ain't pretty," I told him, "but it'll get you there and bring you
 back again. Guaranteed."

 We piled into the shuttle and while Mark unpacked and stowed their
 gear I configured the drive for flight. I worked with Mark adapting
 some of his instruments to my ship's systems. Soon we were ready and I
 engaged the drive to lift us off.

 While Mark settled in to take his readings Judy sat beside me up
 front. She seemed a little nervous, or shy, or something. I noticed
 her looking around the cabin so I explained a few of the ship's
 systems to her. I kept the controls in manual mode, the nav con screen
 showing other planes in the air nearby. I steered wide of a flock of
 birds of some sort which had come up fast, not wanting to have one of
 them splatter across the view port and upset my guests.

 The trip was slow by my standards. I couldn't push through the air
 like I could through space. Planet administration didn't allow it, for
 one thing. Since the fiasco of old Earth, humanity had become a lot
 more careful with treasures like Ceylon and the other habitable
 worlds that we discovered. The greed of old gave way to good planning
 and conservation to the benefit of generations to come. Under the ship
 I saw the lush forests and fields turn sparser as we headed north.
 Soon it was just barren rock and white patches of snow, followed
 shortly after by an all white landscape, broken only by the blue of
 the ocean at the coast. We continued north until I saw land again, a
 vast stretch of white, a tiny smudge that was the research station.
 The trip had taken just under two hours. I brought the ship around to
 land beside the gray buildings that made up the station.

 I wanted to jump out and run barefoot in the snow but a check of the
 temperature indicated that would be rather foolhardy. It was minus
 forty out there, cold enough to freeze skin in seconds. Mark and Judy
 had insulated coats and boots, gloves and such in their bags which
 Mark was unpacking. I had my pressure suit with it's internal
 temperature regulator. I undid my skirt to let it drop to the floor so
 I could put on the pants of my suit. As was usual for me I had on
 nothing underneath. I happened to notice Judy glance my way, then
 letting her eyes linger a little longer while I was pulling the pants
 up my legs. She broke her stare only after I had hiked the pants up
 over my ass and closed the front seals, turning around as I did,
 trying not to be obvious yet giving her the view she seemed to want.
 After we had donned our gear I opened the hatch and the three of us
 trudged the short distance across the frozen wasteland to the
 research station. The snow echoed squeaking noises under my boots as
 I walked, my feet sinking in only an inch or so before meeting solid
 hard packed snow or ice underneath. Mark pulled open the heavy door to
 let us enter the building.

 We stamped the snow off our boots, then went through another door
 which led to a changing room. We took off our coats and hung them on
 pegs lining the walls. As we undressed a man came in to greet us and
 Mark introduced him to me as Sammi, an old friend who now ran this
 station. I was given the two dollar tour as Mark chatted with Sammi.
 We were shown around the labs and in the various buildings which were
 connected by tunnels. The air was warm and fresh although tinged with
 the smells of machinery and chemicals, smells I was all too familiar
 with back home. We settled in the cafeteria for coffees where after a
 while, Mark left Judy and I to go off and exchange research data with
 Sammi. Judy and I made small talk for a while but I was really curious
 to know what her relationship with Mark was, if any. I talked a bit
 about my life as an asteroid miner, not much to say really. Uncover
 some metal, dig it out, back to base at end of shift. Wake up next
 day, same thing.

 I told Judy how nice a change this vacation was for me, and that I had
 met some interesting people last night, Tim and Ceylon. Judy perked up
 a bit at the mention of their names. I saw a smile pull the corners of
 her mouth.

 "Have you met them?" I asked.

 Judy paused for a moment. "I interned under Tim just before he
 retired, four years ago." she said. "We were working at a site in what
 was Asia, Thailand the country had been called." Judy's face
 brightened at the memories. "The things we found. Amazing. Sculptures
 so intricate and stunning, crafted from metals and stone, like nothing
 I had ever seen. It was while working with Tim that I knew I wanted to
 help recover and preserve as much of mankind's heritage as we could.
 Tim hooked me up with Mark; actually I think it was Ceylon's doing.
 She realised where my interests lay and thought that Mark, and the work
 he did, the restoration of Earth's biosphere, would be right for me."

 When Judy mentioned Mark I sensed something else there. I asked her,
 "Are you and Mark, uh, married or uh, together?"

 "We're not married, exactly." she said. "I, uh. . . ."

 Judy saw my face, noted the concerned look on it, and understood. I
 had hoped that I'd not crossed some line between her and Mark last
 night. What Judy said next didn't so much shock me as send me for a
 little loop.

 "Mark told me about the fun you all had at Ceylon's. I'm kind of sorry
 I missed it. Mark and I," she began, "have a relationship which is a
 little unique, although not all that uncommon. Shortly after I met him
 I signed a contract with him, a contract with a five year term. This
 is not a contract for the work we do, although I very much enjoy
 working with him. It is more of a personal commitment to him." Judy
 took a deep breath. "Mark owns me, body and soul, for the duration of
 the contract. I willingly allowed him to make me his property, to do
 with as he sees fit. I am committed to him, and I will do anything he
 asks of me."

 Judy took my hand in hers, saying, "Tim and Ceylon have a lovely open
 marriage. They are deeply in love with each other yet they are quite
 liberal when it comes to sexual matters. I expected something would
 happen when Mark said he would visit, but it's all right. I trust
 Master, trust Mark I mean, in that he would know best as to what is
 right for us." I'm happy for you that Mark let you meet them and
 share in the true joy of their lives.

 "I was a little surprised," I said, "to find myself together with them
 on their bed. And I really did have a nice time. Ceylon is quite the
 lady."

 Judy laughed. "They have been together for thirty six years now. Tim
 started out as Ceylon's slave, yes that's right, Tim was her sex slave
 for several years, but their relationship deepened and they eventually
 got married. I guess they decided to take their relationship to a more
 equal level."

 "When I was sitting in their house," I told her, "I had a most
 wonderful sense of peace and tranquility. I sensed their love for
 each other spilling over and enveloping me. And later," I fingered the
 bracelet on my wrist, remembering. "Later, in their bedroom, Ceylon,
 she took me to heights I had only dreamt were possible."

 Judy stared into my eyes. "She has power, that one." she softly said.

 Mark returned to the cafeteria then, seeing us sitting there holding
 hands. He came over to sit at our table. Judy and I both looked up at
 him, smiling.

 "Sammi had to get back to work," he said. "We can go now."

 "Yes, Master." said Judy, standing up.

 As Mark's eyes went from Judy to me and back again I stood and went to
 him, giving him a little kiss on his cheek.

 "I never thanked you last night." I said. "For letting me meet Tim and
 Ceylon."

 Judy came to his other side and held his arm, smiling. Mark's
 momentary confusion passed.

 "I see you had a nice chat while I was gone." he said. "Shall we,"
 as he steered Judy and I to the door.

 As we dressed in the change room I couldn't help notice the station
 here was not unlike ones in space. Although there was air outside you
 would not survive long in the frigid temperature without some kind of
 protection. Outside the building, although it was still before noon,
 the sun was low in the south west casting long shadows as we trudged
 back to my ship. Inside I was happy to shuck the stiff pants of my
 pressure suit in favour of my soft, loose, cotton skirt.

 After lifting off in a swirl of snow I headed west, low over the open
 sea, along the coast. The ice began to be piled high along the waters
 edge not too far from the station. Mark sat beside me, Judy on his
 lap. This was a glacier, Mark told me. Ice slowly flowed between
 mountains in the distance and ended up in the sea here. Mark asked me
 to hover for a few minutes, not too close to the ice field. As we
 watched, a huge chunk of ice broke free and crashed down into the
 water. I saw it bob up on the surface to begin it's travels wherever
 the current would take it. After a while Mark said let's go.

 I saw the tender way Mark cradled Judy in his lap. I had read about
 their kind of relationship but I couldn't see myself giving total
 control over my life to another person. I was just not like that.
 Still, I wondered, what must it be like not having to worry or, I
 suppose, even think about things so much. To just have someone else
 make the decisions and to let whatever happens happen. Mark and Judy
 were going over some of the data from the research station. I could
 see that Judy was pretty and she was also intelligent. She pointed out
 something on the data that Mark found quite interesting, something to
 do with the ice flow we had seen. Mark got up to check his instruments
 leaving Judy in front with me.

 I asked her where she was from. Judy told me she was born here on
 Crydon. "A city in the southern continent called Tulsa," she said. "My
 family moved to Landon when I was a child. Tim was a professor at the
 university there. I was working towards my history major when he left
 to work on the Earth project and I went with him."

 "You and Mark seem very happy." I ventured.

 Judy paused a moment before answering. "I am so pleased we found
 each other." she said. "Tim was so nice to me both when he was my
 teacher and later when we worked together. Before we left he would sit
 and talk with me for hours. Then later, when I met Ceylon, I began to
 understand what had been missing in my life, what I had been longing
 for, but never knew what it was. Tim told me what it was, how, when he
 was young and he met Ceylon, that she filled the gap in him, made him
 whole. He worshiped her, still does. How there was nothing he wouldn't
 do for her.

 Judy lowered her voice a little. I could see tears begin to form.
 "They have had so many years of happiness together. I try to take
 things as they come but I pray that Mark and I can be together that
 long. There is less than a year left in the contract. If he allows it
 I would gladly sign again, for ever if he wants it."

 I took her hand in mine. I saw that Mark had come up behind Judy and
 he now softly placed his hands on her shoulders. As she looked up at
 his touch he bent to kiss her forehead, letting his hands slide down
 to cup her breasts tenderly, possessively. Judy sighed at the touch.
 Mark looked up, at the view outside the craft.

 We were travelling along the west coast of the continent, passing
 villages and fishing boats out on the water. The autopilot beeped,
 signaling to me that we were approaching our destination. I slowed the
 ship, dropping lower until Mark pointed out the fisheries research
 buildings and a paved area nearby where we could land. I turned the
 shuttle inland to set down on the edge of the landing area. When Judy
 stood up Mark hugged her closely to him, kissing her passionately
 before dabbing the remnants of her tears away with a tissue.

 "Fish for lunch, ladies?" he said. "I know a nice restaurant nearby
 where they serve it really fresh."

 When we stepped out of the ship Mark phoned the fisheries building and
 spoke to the man he was to meet, George, inviting him to join us for
 lunch. We met him outside the office and then walked the block and a
 half to the restaurant. Mark introduced me as the pilot and I saw
 George look at me standing there in my long skirt and bare feet. I
 noticed that his eyes seemed to linger a little long staring at my
 feet. Another one, I thought.

 The fish restaurant was perched on pilings overlooking the ocean. The
 food was superb. I had the scallops, deep fried in a light batter, the
 almost sweet taste and tender texture was divine. Mark and George
 chatted about the ocean, fish and boats. The sea water was very
 similar to that on earth, without all the pollution that is, and the
 species that were introduced, as well as the native organisms found
 here were thriving. Even some sea mammals, brought as frozen embryos,
 were starting to breed and multiply in the open ocean.

 After lunch George took us by boat to a group of islands just off
 shore where big holding pens teeming with fish were set up. Fish were
 kept here, he explained, until they grew and had a good chance of
 surviving in the wild. Then some were released while others were
 harvested for food, or sent off to other worlds to be introduced in
 oceans found there. George told us that there were five other planets
 where the sea was able to support Earth type fish and another seven
 where attempts were being made to transfer some species there.

 We took the boat back to the office building and toured the labs where
 George worked. Mark and George settled in to go over their research
 while Judy and I walked around a bit, then, when I got restless, we
 went down to the cafeteria for some tea. Judy seemed happier now so I
 didn't want to break her mood. I told her that in a year or two I
 thought I might quit I SAM to settle down somewhere.

 "Possibly here, on Crydon." I said. "This planet just seems to get
 more and more inviting each time I visit."

 I told her of the mud bath I visited my first day and what a wild rush
 that had been. She said she had heard about that particular pool and
 wanted to try it herself some day. Mark and George came in with
 coffees and sat with us for a while, then it was time to go. We went
 to my ship and settled in for the trip across the desert. As I sat
 down, I saw the comm light blinking, a message waiting for me.

 Humanity had learned how to push our machines past the light speed
 barrier, but data transmissions had to be carried aboard a ship going
 in the desired direction. They would then be handed off to planet
 communications for delivery. This message had been sent early
 yesterday from my boss at I SAM. I smiled when I opened the file and
 read that the last blast pattern I'd set up before leaving had
 uncovered a huge vein of almost pure nickel, enough to keep the
 smelter busy with overtime for weeks. A nice bonus had been
 transferred to my account along with an extra two days vacation,
 effective now if I wanted.

 I let Mark read the message and told him that I wouldn't have to rush
 back tomorrow. He said that would be good and that there was a friend
 who lived on the south edge of the desert that he really wanted to
 visit, if it was O.K. with me. I said sure, so Mark used the comm to
 register the change of flight plan with air traffic control. He and
 Judy went off to a store to get some extra supplies, some food and
 water, some fresh fish and fruit for his friend. Then we lifted off to
 continue south, along the coast.

 As on our flight north the lush green forests and fields gave way to
 more browns and reds as we approached the desert region. Only this time
 the landscape turned to an endless expanse of sand, the wind shifting
 it into high dunes. I turned east at zero latitude, flying low over
 the desert. For the longest time there were no signs of life at all
 down there, just hundreds of kilometers of sand. Through the heat haze
 I began to make out a shape in the distance. I pulled up as we came to
 a vast mountainous area, the reddish coloured stone blasted by the
 windswept sand, the near peaks rounded. Farther along the mountains
 peaked at a height of 6,200 meters before giving way to a valley
 below, a deep blue river cutting down the middle.

 I dropped down into the valley and we followed the river south. Over
 the desert the outside temperature was in the high fifty's but in the
 valley it was an almost bearable forty three. Mark pointed out a flat
 area and asked me to land. When I opened the hatch the heat hit me
 like a brick. I stepped down to the sand but had to retreat and find a
 pair of sandals for my feet. I also exchanged my long skirt for a
 short, thin one, and the thick shirt for a skimpy top. Mark and Judy
 had umbrellas to shade them from the fierce sunlight so I stayed close
 to Judy while Mark took some samples of the soil and the river water.
 I dipped a toe in the river but the water was too hot for anything
 more. The river was still, not flowing in either direction. There was
 no wind, no sound at all. Eerie. Like space, except you could breathe.

 Mark finished his study and we took off again, following the valley
 south, southeast. In a little while I started to see sighs of
 greenery along the river banks. Mark asked to land again and I touched
 down on a spot near some tree like plants. On closer examination the
 tall plants were cactus with a soft yellow fur covering the fibrous
 trunk and arms reaching for the sky. The temperature was more pleasant
 here, hot still but I could walk barefoot across the sand. The river
 water was a little warm and after Mark ran some tests on it to make
 sure it was safe the three of us stripped to have a swim. The water
 was fine, slightly alkaline from the limestone mountains surrounding
 us. Mark and Judy frolicked in the water while I swam along side. When
 Judy turned her back to me I thought I saw some kind of marks on her
 skin, on her shoulders and on her upper back. Mark boosted her up and
 over his head, letting her dive into the water. I saw she seemed to
 have marks on her bum and upper thighs too. Marks made by a whip,
 possibly.

 After our swim Judy and I lay on a blanket in the shade of some cacti
 while Mark fetched some snacks from their supplies. None of us had
 bothered to get dressed. Judy lay beside me on the blanket. I moved
 closer to her. I put my hands on her and rolled her onto her stomach.
 Keeping one hand at the middle of her back I traced my fingers across
 the welts on her bum. Judy was surprised at first and struggled a bit
 to hide her back from me but I held her down. As my fingers moved
 gently across her skin she seemed to resign to the fact her secret was
 out.

 "Answer me truthfully," I told her, "did Mark do this?"

 "Yes."

 More gently, "Does he whip you often?" The feel of Judy's soft skin
 under my hands, the tiny raised lines, healing but still tender,
 slightly more pinkish in colour than the rest of her skin.

 "No." She paused. "Mark whipped me two weeks ago. A brothel ship
 visited the Mars colony. We booked some time in the dungeon. He doesn't
 do it very often, only when I. . ." Her voice dropped to a whisper.
 "ask him to do it."

 I saw Mark leave the ship carrying some food and drinks, heading our
 way. I understood.

 I asked, "You like it, don't you?" I felt her shudder.

 "Yes."

 Mark approached the blanket and sat down beside Judy handing me a
 bottle of juice, eying me carefully. He twisted the cap on one, then
 gave it to Judy. She rolled over to face me, her back pressing against
 Mark. She took a drink, paused, and then began to speak. Her eyes
 stared at a spot on the blanket near me.

 "When Master whips me I like him to tie me down tightly. Whether I'm
 standing or lying down, or bent over something. I like the feelings of
 being helpless, of not being able to move hardly at all.

 "He usually starts slow, gentle. He'll use his hand, or maybe caress
 my flesh with the whip. Gently, a few soft strokes. I get so hot. I
 try to push back against it, to feel it more strongly. Sometimes he
 stops until the anticipation is more than I can bear. He will laugh
 and my face burns with shame at my wanton lust. Then he will begin.

 "The first blow is the hardest, or so it seems. Stinging fire burns
 across my back, or my ass. The flames erupt within me. Master pauses,
 letting me settle. Then again. His choice of weapon manifests itself.
 The flogger, it's strands, an overall burn. The whip, sweet pinpoints
 of flame. A springy switch, soaked in water, or oil. Intense. Master
 starts in earnest now, the lashings evening out. Each blow driving me
 on, higher. I feel the rush building, building, each stroke flooding
 me with that sweet sweet pain.

 "I pull and twist now. Trying to escape. But there is no getting away
 from it. Again. Again. I cry out "Harder. Harder!" Master knows not to
 listen. I would die now. I crave to be driven over the top, beyond the
 point of no return. Master will change the tempo now, perhaps not as
 hard but to caress me in a more sensitive place. A slash to a breast,
 or the inside of a thigh. My pussy. Sending the sweet flames to lick
 my core.

 "Then fast. Wham wham wham wham. I no longer feel where the blows
 land, only the overall intensification. My mind is spinning. Out of
 control. I am soaring away, up, up, stretched to the limit. I am
 there. Master sees this and pauses a moment. Time stands still.

 "Then I am falling, being pulled back at incredible speeds. I slam
 hard, back into myself, as wave after wave pounds into me. Gravity
 increases ten fold, a hundred. I'm crushed into a dense ball. The tiny
 spark at my center flickers, then flares bright, consuming my soul. I
 explode. Superfucking nova. Particles fly out in all directions,
 twinkling in space. Then gone. I'm gone. I exist, no more.

 "Master unties me. Sometimes I'm aware of him, his hands on me.
 Gentle. Soothing words.

 "Some time later I'm aware again. I move. Pain. Hurt. Stiffness all
 over. I open my eyes to see him, my Master, with me, comforting me. He
 has taken me once more to that special place and he has brought me
 back safe and sound."

 I watched a tear roll down Judy's cheek and fall to the blanket. I had
 tears in my eyes also, as did Mark. Save for Judy's breathing there
 was no sound. I reached to take her hand. Judy squeezed mine hard, a
 small sob escaping her lips. I looked up at Mark.

 "You two have something very special." I said.

 Mark placed his hand over mine and Judy's. He whispered something
 softly in her ear, kissing her neck. She turned her head to kiss him,
 full on the lips. She saw the moisture in his eyes and smiled.

 "I love you too." She softly said.

 [end part 2/4]

Asteroid, Mine
 [part 3/4]
		   --=--
 Asteroid, Mine  [chapter 5]

 The sun crested the mountains behind us. The line of shadow passed
 slowly across our blanket as we drank our juice and munched cookies
 from the bag Mark had brought out. I was in awe over what Judy had
 said. I felt fear for her and her experiences, mixed with wonderment
 and fascination. I wondered if I had the strength to touch the places
 she had. I wondered if I would ever get the chance to.

 Mark held Judy close to him. When the line of shadow passed over us I
 felt the air cool slightly and a small breeze stirred, lifting some
 strands of Judy's lovely golden hair. Mark looked up and suggested we
 go.

 We put on our clothes and picked up everything, then walked along the
 shore to the ship. After I lifted off I modulated the thrusters to
 smooth the sand where the shuttle had landed and where we had walked.
 I wanted to leave the area as pristine as we had found it, as I had
 done at the last place we had landed. This time Mark realized what I
 was doing and he smiled approvingly at me. I headed south again,
 skimming over the river. In a while the mountains started to level off
 and the valley opened wider. More greenery along the river banks, then
 signs of habitation began to show. Roads, cultivated fields, then deep
 forests. The river led on to a huge lake.

 I brought the ship up to get an overview of the vast area of open
 water. Mark pointed to a river leading east. I followed this river
 which soon began winding through a lush forested area broken by areas
 of thick marsh. We began to see, beneath the thick tree canopy, traces
 of a road. A little farther along the road branched, leading to a low
 hill with open fields around a big structure. "Uncle Jeff's place."
 Mark said.

 I brought the shuttle down beside the house. I saw a man come out of
 the house to eye my ship warily, carrying what looked like some kind
 of weapon. Mark pulled open the hatch to step down. When Jeff saw him
 his face lit up and, leaning the gun against the house, came running
 over to grasp Mark's hand in a hearty handshake. Judy approached and
 Jeff held her at arms length, looking her over before drawing her near
 in a hug and kissing her cheek. Mark introduced me.

 "Donna Rytell, this is Judy's uncle, Jeff Boggs. Donna graciously has
 offered us the use of her shuttle to do our survey."

 I shook Jeff's hand. He looked to be around mid forty's, tall and a
 bit heavy set. He had a very friendly face and his eyes sparkled with
 life. As we walked along the front of the house he picked up his gun,
 an old Earth shotgun I saw.

 "Sorry about this," he said looking at it, "but way out here you can't
 be too careful."

 I put out my hand and asked to see the relic weapon. Jeff handed it to
 me. There was intricate carving in the shiny metal along the sides,
 the stock, polished gleaming wood, looked well worn. I broke the gun
 open and took out one of the shells.

 "It's beautiful." I said. "But where do you get the shells now?" I'd
 never even seen an old shotgun before.

 "Make um." he said as I dropped the shell back and closed the gun,
 handing it back. "Ain't hard. Simple stuff always works the best."

 I could see I would get along well with uncle Jeff. When we entered
 the house Jeff put his gun in a rack near the door. Mark said he'd
 brought some things for dinner so he and Judy went to get them while
 Jeff took me to the kitchen and fixed me a cup of tea. We all sat
 around the big kitchen for a while chatting about work, life, family.
 Jeff took us around his place, showing us his fields where he grew all
 his own food, the barns where he had some animals, chickens and such.
 He told me he sold some stuff at a nearby town to buy other things he
 needed.

 "So you live out here by yourself?" I asked.

 "Yup." he said. "Don't much have need for folks. Prefer being on my
 own. Friends drop by from town, family visits. It's nice."

 The air was warm and damp. Green plants all around, lush, thick. Deep
 forest behind the barn, huge trees. The house was built from big logs
 mostly, additions jutting out at rather odd angles.

 "Stuff grows like crazy round these parts." he said. "Could get off
 five crops a year, if I needed to."

 Jeff led us past his barn and along a path through the trees. A few
 minutes later the path ended at the banks of a wide river, a lovely
 sandy beach along the shore. I went over to dip my feet in the warm,
 clean water.

 "Trout start'en to move up here from the south lake now." he told
 Mark.

 Uncle Jeff had found himself a little slice of heaven and had settled
 right in. We walked back to the house and got started on supper. Judy
 and I worked in the kitchen while Mark and Jeff talked outside. Judy
 pan fried some scallops in garlic butter and after I had prepared
 some potatoes and carrots she cooked those while I made a salad. Jeff
 did the salmon steaks over charcoal on a grill outside. Jeff had some
 fresh baked bread he'd made this morning. Mark had bought some beer
 and two bottles of white wine. We ate on a table out back while the
 sun went down, it's reflection off the river sparkling through the
 trees.

 Jeff was quite interested as I talked about the work I did. I told him
 of my time doing service calls on the mining company's equipment. He
 said that he use to do similar work on construction machines when he
 worked `down south', before he gave it up to live here. After dinner
 Jeff took me out to the barn and showed me around his workshop. I
 looked around at his stuff, familiar with it all. He did some custom
 machining for people in town sometimes, he told me. I showed him my
 shuttle, my fixit table in the back, a miniature version of his setup.
 We talked metal and machinery, then he put his arm around me as we
 walked back to the house.

 Mark and Judy were cuddled together on the couch in the front room.
 Judy had a huge smile on her face. Mark stood up as we came in, saying
 he had an announcement to make.

 "Uncle Jeff, Donna," he began, "I'd like you to be the first to know,
 Judy and I have decided to get married when we return to Mars next
 week."

 Jeff went to his niece and hugged her. When he moved to congratulate
 Mark, Judy hugged me fiercly.

 "Congratulations." I said to her. "I'm so happy for you."

 Mark gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek. I looked deep into his
 pale gray eyes and smiled. I hugged him again. I didn't have to say
 anything, I knew he and Judy would both find many happy years together.

 "This calls for a toast." Jeff said and he pulled a bottle from a
 cabinet beside the wall. "I've been savin' this for somethin'
 special."

 Sarcusian brandy, forty years old. My my. Jeff poured four glasses and
 we toasted the happiness of the new couple. The party moved out back
 where Jeff set fire to some wood in a circle of stones. We sat around
 the fire drinking the brandy and the beers we'd brought, talking and
 laughing. Jeff produced a guitar and a bag of cannabis. We smoked the
 dope from a small nickel pipe and sang songs, or tried to.

 I can't remember having so much fun. We sat around the fire, drinking
 and smoking, getting totally stoned. Jeff would start a song and
 someone would join in. But the words became hard to remember and soon
 we were all laughing hysterically again. It was the middle of the night
 before our party wound down. Jeff managing to get through a couple of
 sweet slow songs, putting me in a most relaxed mood. The house had two
 bedrooms and Jeff offered me his but I had spied a hammock stretched
 between two trees and I said that it would do nicely. He brought me a
 blanket and pillow and I slept under a canopy of stars.

 It was Judy who gently shook me awake the next morning. She handed me
 a cup of coffee, then sat in a chair nearby to sip hers. I looked up
 and saw Jeff heading for the barn. Judy looked radiant. I told her
 again how happy I was for her.

 "I had only another seven months left in the contract with Mark." she
 said. "I was beginning to get worried that he may have grown tired of
 me." She looked down. "Maybe you don't approve of what we do, what he
 does to me, sometimes, but when we talked yesterday and he told me of
 his decision to commit to me, to marry me, Donna, there is nothing
 that I wanted more."

 "Judy," I jumped in, "I never said that I disapprove of what you and
 Mark do. In fact, the way you described it yesterday, in the desert,"
 I gasped, remembering. My voice dropped. "That was the most beautiful
 thing I ever heard."

 It was my turn to stare at the ground. "I. . . I've had thoughts,
 desires like that too, you know. Lately I've been reading things,
 wondering. . . ."

 Judy got up to sit on the hammock beside me, putting her arm around
 me. I saw Jeff return from the barn carrying a bunch of eggs in his
 arms. Fresh eggs. Not powder from a can. Judy spoke.

 "Mark knows a few people who are, you know, like us. If you want. . ."

 "I don't know, Judy. I don't know if I could."

 Judy said "Look, Mark and I want to have a big party before we leave,
 invite everyone we know in Landon. Tomorrow. He has friends you could
 talk to, just talk. Then maybe, if you want."

 I drained my coffee cup. "I don't know, Judy."

 I got up and walked to the house, more confused than ever. I was
 thinking about the scene I'd witnessed that night in the Lambda bar's
 basement. Cindy? Her sleek form stretched up on that cross. The crack
 of the whip. I went in the back door to Jeff's kitchen.. He had broken
 the eggs in a bowl and was mixing them with some milk. I refilled my
 coffee and sat down with Mark at the table.

 "Mornin Donna. How's your head?" Jeff asked.

 "What? Oh." Last night. "Fine thanks. That was really swell last
 night."

 "Uh hu."

 I could tell that Jeff saw something was bothering me. It was nice
 that he didn't press it, as some people tend to do. This wasn't
 something I felt I could share with him. I didn't really want to think
 about it myself. He finished mixing the eggs then began dipping slices
 of bread in and placing them on the griddle. Judy came in to finish
 slicing some cheese onto a plate. She got some jam from the cooler and
 when Jeff finished with the egg toast we all sat down to eat. Mark
 talked about the party he wanted to have. He invited Jeff to hitch a
 ride with us back to Landon, if I didn't mind, so he could be there.
 Jeff said no, that it was O.K.

 "It was real nice you came all this way to see me," he said, "to let
 me see my lovely niece. I know you two'll be happy together."

 After breakfast Mark found out his phone didn't have the range to
 reach the net in town. Much to my surprise Jeff didn't have a comm
 link. Mark asked to use the comm in the ship to call a friend to
 arrange for the party and I said sure, go ahead. I hadn't bothered to
 lock the hatch, no need, way out here. Among friends. I helped Jeff
 clean up the dishes.

 "You really like it out here." I asked him

 "Wouldn't trade it for nothin'." He said. "Always somethin' to do
 round here, and if'n I don't want to do it, grab a rod an' go fishin',
 do a bit o' huntin', maybe drive to town an' get drunk with the
 fellers, shoot the shit."

 I laughed. "Ya." I said. I could see someone settling down here.

 "Smart girl like you could do all right, place like this." he said
 with a grin. "Some folks needs the big city, lotsa people around. Me,
 I do just fine by m'self."

 I turned and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I'm really glad to have
 met you, Jeff." I said.

 Mark and Judy returned from the ship after making their call. Mark
 said he'd talked to Ceylon who was thrilled to bits they were finally
 getting `hitched' as she put it, and had taken over the arrangements
 for the party. He suggested that we should get going. There was much
 hugging and kissing as we said goodbye to Jeff. Judy snuggled into
 Mark's lap as we took off, heading south to circle around the nearby
 town, then north, back to Landon.

 I set the autopilot, then turned to see both Mark and Judy looking at
 me. Mark spoke up.

 "So. I hear you want to get a whipping."

 Oh oh. "Mark. I don't. . . ."

 "Listen." he said. You need a place to stay tonight. I called Steve.
 We'll take you over there. He's the best. He taught me how to do it
 right. Have dinner with them, talk about it. Cindy knows. She
 remembers seeing you with me at dinner in the bar. Then later, it's
 your call. If you want, he can show you the ropes, so to speak. If you
 want to go farther, it's all up to you. They have a farm outside of
 town. Nice and private. You want to try it? You say stop, no problem."

 Judy spoke up. "Do it, Donna. These are people you can trust. I knew
 Steve before I met Mark." Judy lowered her voice. That little girl
 voice I've heard her use before. "He was my first. My first time."

 Mark looked surprised. "I didn't know that." he said. He hugged Judy
 tighter.

 I thought about it as I watched the two cuddle on the seat beside me..
 I thought for a whole half a minute.

 "O.K." I said. "I'll have dinner with Steve and Cindy. I'll talk about
 it with them."

 "Great." Mark used the comm to call Ceylon again. The party was all
 set for tomorrow afternoon and would be held at Steve's farm. Tim said
 friends and family from far and wide had agreed to show up. The food
 and everything had been arranged.

 "Thanks guys." Mark said and clicked off.

 It was mid afternoon before I brought the ship in at Landon spaceport.
 We had a quick lunch at the bar there, then Mark rented a vehicle. He
 drove over to my shuttle and we transferred all his stuff and my bag,
 then he drove me out to the farm. Mark and Judy had to go over the
 data they'd collected so after I was introduced to Steve and Cindy
 they left for their hotel saying they'd be back for lunch tomorrow.

 Their farm looked big. The land around was mostly flat with some areas
 of trees nearby. On the drive up their road I saw fenced in areas with
 horses and cattle. Their house was a sprawling ranch style bungalow
 and Steve briefly took my arm when we went inside. His touch made me
 jump, I was nervous as hell. Cindy showed me to my room down the hall,
 in back of the house. She said to settle in, clean up if I wanted,
 then join them in the kitchen when I was ready.

 The room was cosy and nice. There was a bathroom with a shower which I
 made use of. As the warm water washed over me I looked at the two
 black bracelets still around my wrists. Water didn't seem to effect
 the soft leather, I had noticed. The softer lining on the inside
 stayed damp only for a few minutes before drying. Why was I still
 wearing them? The keys were still safe in my bag, tucked in a pocket
 of my jeans. I stepped out of the shower and toweled myself off.
 Because somehow the two black bands just seemed to feel right on me.
 That's why I'd left them on.

 I dressed in a short skirt and a shirt. Through the window I saw a
 group of men getting into a truck near the barn, then driving away. I
 went out to find Steve at the kitchen table having a beer with another
 man. Steve offered me a beer and introduced the other man as the
 foreman, Bill. Steve said he had five men who worked the farm, taking
 care of most things, the crops and the animals. I saw Steve sign off
 what I guessed was the payroll, then Bill stood and, saying goodbye,
 left to join his crew for the ride to town.

 Steve showed me around the kitchen, one cooler full of beers and wine,
 another crammed with food. They had a bar in the livingroom if I
 wanted anything from there. We went outside and got into a truck, then
 Steve drove me around the farm showing me huge fields of crops in
 various stages of growth. He showed me his regular Earth type animals
 as well as some others native to this planet that we found could also
 be bred for food. Steve promised me a horse ride after dinner. Steve
 parked near the barn and we walked back to the house.

 My anticipation had passed with Steve's kindly nature putting me at
 ease. He looked to be a little older than me, tall and lanky. His hair
 was a little long and shaggy, dark brown. Gentle blue eyes and an easy
 smile. I told him about meeting Jeff and his little clearing in the
 jungle. Steve had never met him but understood the lifestyle choice.

 We settled in the kitchen again, Steve handing me a fresh beer.
 "Farming's sometimes a hard life." He said. "You won't get rich this
 way. Lots of problems sometimes. But it's a good life. Simple, honest
 work. Cindy and I both love it here."

 Cindy walked in with an armload of vegetables and dumped them on the
 counter and in the sink. She began washing the roots and her hands. I
 offered to help her but she said no, I was to be their guest tonight.
 When she'd cleaned up she dried her hands, then poured a glass of wine
 and sat with us. I sensed that it was time to get serious.

 "I remember seeing you at the demonstration we did at the bar." Steve
 began. "Mark tells me you think you might like to explore your
 interests a little farther."

 I said that I'd read some things and had become curious about it. I
 told Steve that the show they'd put on was quite interesting.

 Steve said, "It was a good show, but there was nothing `put on' about
 it. What you saw was quite real. Cindy?"

 Cindy stood up and pulled up her dress, turning to show me her bare
 back. She wore a silver chain around her waist, the ends joined with a
 small padlock. I could still see the marks where that whip had striped
 her, faded a lot now but still plainly visible on her soft pale skin.
 I asked her if it still hurt.

 "Not really." Cindy said. "Most of the pain passes in a day, two if it
 was a severe session. Steve has never pushed me past the limit. Never
 so much as to leave anything permanent on me."

 Cindy let her dress fall over her again and sat down.

 Steve looked at me, waiting. I suddenly found myself telling them about
 Judy's description of it back in the desert yesterday, that seemingly
 wildly improbable outline of her innermost feelings while being
 painfully beaten. That narrative which had shaken me to my core with
 the beauty of it all. When I finished telling it, Cindy's eyes were
 closed and she was squirming on her chair. She was close to cumming, I
 thought. Her eyes opened and she settled.

 "Judy knows." she said. "She has touched that place, as have I. Many
 times now. Steve can take you there too Donna, if you want."

 "The path is long." Steve said. "It takes both a willingness and trust
 to make such a journey. But if you are willing, and can find the trust
 you need to have, I can put you on the right path. Perhaps open the
 door for you and let you peek inside. I must warn you that once you
 touch that place, feel that searing fire, you will be changed. You may
 choose never to go there again, but you will never forget. If you give
 yourself over to it, enter and embrace it, it is something that will
 mark your soul forever.

 "Cindy, why don't you show our guest downstairs while I get started
 with dinner."

 Cindy stood and took my hand to lead me over to a door in the kitchen.
 It opened to a flight of stairs leading down to the cellar. She
 flicked on the light and we made our way down. There was a room,
 perhaps the size of the kitchen upstairs, the walls lined with shelves
 of jars and bins of vegetables. The air was cool and damp. Cindy
 reached behind one row of shelves and pulled something. I heard a low
 thump and when she pulled, the shelves swung out smoothly to reveal a
 tunnel behind. She flicked on the lights. There were five steps down
 and the tunnel with it's arched roof led about ten meters to another
 door. This door was wood, banded with iron straps. Heavy, solid,
 soundproof no doubt.

 Cindy took down a large key from a hook in the wall. The lock turned
 with a solid thump. "Mind the stairs." she said.

 Light from the tunnel showed me five more steps down into the room. I
 saw a dim light glowing on the far side. We went down into the room,
 Cindy crossing over to a panel on the wall. She turned a switch and
 the room was flooded with bright light. I stared around the room with
 a mixture of astonishment, wonder, and a little fear.

 The ceiling was curved, arched, supported by solid stone pillars. The
 lighting was bright, illuminating every corner of the room. I could
 see concealed spotlights, iron holders on the pillars for what,
 torches? Big holders with candles, the wax drops frozen in time. On
 one wall, the massive St. Andrews cross was mounted, the one they'd
 used for the show. Other things, things I've read about but never
 expected to be real, never thought I'd see. A small cage, heavy steel
 bars, the door chained and locked. It was just over a cubic meter
 square. Another in the corner, larger, one could stand in this one, or
 sit. I walked around the room as if in a daze. Manacles solidly fixed
 to the stone wall. A bench, padded on the top, open cuffs at the
 ready. A table piled with black and brown leather things, white rope,
 shiny steel. A circular iron staircase in the far corner led up to
 another heavy door at the top, exit to the barn Cindy told me. On a
 rack by the light switches hung coiled whips, hanging whips, paddles,
 straps, thin wood canes. I had circled the dungeon, a medieval dungeon,
 just like in De Sade's book. I looked at Cindy. "Wow." was all I
 could manage to say.

 The floor was mostly the same gray stone the walls were made from
 except for a few areas which were bare hard pack dirt. The floor of
 the bigger cage was covered in straw. The small cage had flat steel
 bars for a bottom. Cindy switched off the bright tube lights plunging
 the dungeon in darkness save for the pale yellow light over the large
 cell.

 "That light stays on." she said. "It gets annoying after a while for
 anyone locked in the cage. Every time you open your eyes you see the
 bars surrounding you." She spoke from experience.

 Cindy brought up the spotlights one at a time. The different areas of
 the dungeon brightened before me, then dimmed to highlight another area,
 the images etching onto my mind. It was a little warm in the room, the
 air not damp, not dry. I could smell the earth, the solid stone, a
 hint of leather and metal, traces of fear, and arousal. Cindy left the
 lights on low in the center of the room. There was a small raised
 stone platform there and, hanging from above, a solid looking pulley
 with a length of rope through it, the ends pulled over to a nearby
 column and tied to a hook.

 Cindy took my hand and led me from the room, along the tunnel and into
 the storage cellar. She closed the shelf-door before we went up into
 the kitchen. Steve saw my dazed look and handed me a beer.

 "Thanks." I said. "That is quite the set up you have down there."

 "Cindy enjoys it." He said. "I'd prefer if you kept what you saw
 quiet, at the party tomorrow. Mark knows, and a few others. But I'd
 rather that word didn't spread too far."

 Cindy said, "We have a page on the net. We sometimes let others use
 our room, or get abused in it. You would be surprised to know of some
 of the people who've contacted us about it. Some of the requests we've
 had."

 "We keep it all professionally discreet." Steve added. "Someone
 contacts us, names are not used. I go and meet them, or someone else
 does, then, if everything is agreeable, I pick them up, they have
 their fun and I drive them home again."

 "Sounds lucrative." I said.

 "Oh ya." Steve told me. "Helps pay the bills around here. Fun too.
 Maybe twice a month we entertain a guest, or two."

 The potatoes were baking in the oven. Some greens were ready in a pot.
 Steve brought out a plate of steaks from the cooler and headed
 outside. I followed, beer in hand. Steve lit the gas grill, then sat
 beside me to wait for it to heat. He spoke.

 "Cindy and I would be pleased to give you a taste of what it is that
 you desire, if you're still game." When I shook my head he went on.
 "Here's the plan. Although you have a nice soft bed waiting you will
 spend the night in the dungeon, in the cell. You will be shackled. At
 some point during the night I will drag you out and give you a taste
 of the flogger. Not hard. You will feel it, but it will only be a
 sample. Mark said you don't have to leave till day after tomorrow, is
 that right?" I shook my head again. Steve went on. "You will be put
 back in the cell until morning when Cindy or I will let you out.

 "Tomorrow, have fun at the party, think about it. After the party,
 after everyone leaves, it's your choice. Soft warm bed, or, if you
 want, we can take it farther. I can take you as far as you want to go,
 Donna, I'd be happy to. You want to know, don't you?" Yes, I said, I
 did. Steve continued. "Tonight, you will find out if it's right for
 you. If you want to go slow tell me. If you want to stop, fine. No
 problem at all. It's all up to you."

 Cindy had come outside to join us. She heard most of what her husband
 had said.

 "Trust is a big part of it." She said. "You won't have to worry here,
 with us."

 Steve got up to put the meat on the grill. Cindy asked me to help her
 set the table. Inside their kitchen I cut up some fresh bread while
 Cindy tossed the salad. Steve brought in the steaks and we sat down to
 a wonderful feast. After dinner Steve said he'd promised me a horse
 ride so while Cindy and I cleaned up he went out to saddle three of
 the animals. When we got to the barn Steve showed me what to do and
 boosted me up onto the beast's back. I was a little nervous sitting up
 on the big horse as he shook his head and pawed the dirt. Although at
 work, in the digger, I commanded a million horse power with a touch of
 a button this one creature gave me the willies. A big black with white
 spots named Snoop. I soon discovered Snoop knew what he was doing with
 little help needed from me. We rode along the road between fields
 until we came to the north boundary of Steve's farm.

 Looking east was a huge area of wheat, I was told. A large building
 could be seen in the distance. Martin Mills, Steve said, almost all
 the flour used in the area comes from there. There was a wooded area
 and a path through the trees which we took. Past the woods the land
 opened to a big lake. Steve taught me how to make the horse run fast,
 through the water near shore, his hooves kicking up a spray, and more
 importantly, how to get him to stop when I wanted him to. Steve
 passed around a small flask of brandy. We rode along the shore to a
 beach near to where the road ended.

 Dark clouds were starting to move in from the west so we decided to
 head back. We rode along the side of the road and up the driveway to
 their farm. When we reached the barn Steve took care of the animals
 while Cindy and I went to the kitchen to fix coffee and cherry pie. We
 all sat around and talked about things for the rest of the evening
 while the rain pounded down outside. Later on the rain stopped and I
 walked around outside with Steve for a bit. The sky had cleared as
 quickly as it had darkened before. Should be a nice day tomorrow, he
 informed me. When we went back in Cindy looked at me. Steve looked at
 her. It began.

 Cindy took me to my room and told me to take off all my clothes. She
 asked if I had the key to the bracelets I was wearing. I was to take
 them off too. My toe rings could stay. I never take them off, I said.

 "There is to be no talking from now on," Cindy told me, "Unless you
 really need to say something. Use the toilet now. There is a bucket in
 the cell if you need to go later."

 After I'd peed, Cindy led me naked to their living room couch. Steve
 had gotten shackles from the dungeon. I sat while he put them on me.
 They were heavy iron, wide and smooth inside, rounded. The two for my
 wrists had only a 10 cm. chain keeping my hands close together, the
 pair for my ankles had a 40 cm. chain so I could take short steps.
 They locked solidly with a hex wrench, Steve setting them not too
 tight, but I felt their solid, inescapable grasp. Steve told me to
 stand. Cindy took my arm and led me down stairs. The chain on my feet
 pulled up tight at each stair and I had to go slowly. Cindy led me
 through the first door, down the five steps, and along the darkened
 tunnel. My ankle chain rattled along the stone floor, echoing as I
 shuffled along. Steve followed behind.

 Cindy pulled open the heavy dungeon door. A slight chill ran through
 me. She took my arm again to lead me down the last five steps and into
 the room. The stairs were lit by a dim spotlight. Some candles
 flickered in a stand nearby. The light over the cell, over my bed.
 Cindy let go of my arm. I stood for a moment, swaying slightly. Then I
 slowly shuffled over to the cell and stepped in. I turned, the soft
 straw tickling up between my toes. Steve moved towards the cell. He
 swung the door closed, the steel banging, the unmistakable sound of
 the lock engaging as he turned the big key. He shook the door. I was
 stuck.

 Steve went to the candles and one by one, blew them out. He then
 crossed to the lighting panel and pushed a button. A relay dropped
 out, cutting power to the spotlight over the steps, leaving only a
 small, pale circle of illumination around my cell. I watched the two
 dim figures join as one as Cindy and Steve made their way up the
 stairs and through the door. The heavy door then banged and I heard
 the scrape of the lock as the key was turned. Then, nothing, save for
 the pounding of my heart.

 I looked around. A small metal pail attached to the bars in the corner
 by chain. I lifted my hands to touch the steel bars on the door. I
 shook the door. Perhaps two millimeters clearance around the bolt, the
 rattle echoing back to me. The manacles around my wrists heavy. I let
 my hands slide down the bars as I sat down in the straw. I touched my
 ankles where the shackles around them had rubbed as I walked. They
 hurt, a little.

 I lay down on the floor of the cage. I discovered I couldn't stretch
 out fully, there wasn't enough space. My feet pushed through the bars
 in one corner, the shackles banging noisily. My head was pressed
 against the bars on the other side. I brought my legs up as I rolled
 on my side, the handcuffs digging into my breasts as I hugged myself.
 I moved my hands down between my legs. I was wet, down there, had been
 for some time now. Since Cindy had taken me to my room and told me to
 strip. My finger grazed my clit causing me to jump. I began to finger
 myself until I exploded in a huge cum, my chains rattling loud in the
 empty, silent room.

 My breathing slowed. I calmed. Silence. My eyes opened and I looked
 out, through the bars of my cage. A small glint of light. I sat up to
 press my face to the bars. Shiny, small, far away. The light above me
 reflecting off a buckle, or something. I stood. I paced across the
 straw. One. Two. Three. Four.. Four hobbled steps. I looked up at the
 light high above me. Donna, what have you gotten yourself into?

 I lay down on the straw again and masturbated to another massive,
 satisfying cum. I'm locked in chains, I thought, Locked in a steel
 cage. Locked in a room deep underground. And I'm fucking myself. I
 looked out through the bars of the cage. Silence. The straw prickled
 my skin a little. I rolled over to my other side. The straw was
 bugging me. It was in my hair. I brought my hands up, the steel chain
 dragging on my face as I picked some straw from my hair. I saw some
 strands of straw sticking out from under the shackle on my wrist. My
 last orgasm had made my crotch wetter and there was straw sticking me
 there too. I was sweaty and the stuff was all over me. The more I
 tried to brush it off, twisting and turning, the more got stuck to me.
 I brought up my feet to get the straw out from under the shackles. I
 pushed my feet through my arms and rolled over onto my stomach,
 bringing my hands up behind to get the straw off my back.

 Somehow I managed to get the shackles on my wrists twisted around so
 my hands became drawn close together trapping them behind me. I
 couldn't manage to get my arms over my bum again. I twisted and pulled
 mashing my tits against the straw floor of my prison. I shook,
 grinding my thighs together. I was cumming big time, the force of it
 blasting through my brain leaving my body a shaking, breathless,
 trapped, straw covered mess.

 I opened my eyes. I was calm now, that last cum must have knocked me
 out for a while. I looked around. Steel bars. Straw. This damn straw,
 all over me. No. Not really. It wasn't bothering me so much now. Had I
 just gotten use to it? I could feel with my fingers where the chain
 had got tangled around my wrist and the catch on the shackle. I moved
 the chain, twisting my wrist a little until I felt it release. I slid
 my hands over my bum, then rolled over and brought them up over my
 feet. I sat up. How long have I been here now. Did I sleep? How long.
 I was calm now, my skin was dry, the straw falling away from me. After
 a while I lay back down on the soft warm straw. I slept.

 I shook. I jerked awake, the shackles on my wrists biting into me..
 Where am I? Oh. Naked and chained. Locked in a steel cage. Waiting. I
 saw the bars before me. I was waiting. For. . . ? Oh. a whipping.
 Awkwardly I squatted in the corner and peed into the bucket. Not a
 pretty sight. I lay back down in the straw.. I closed my eyes. Slept.

 The scrape of steel, far away. A change. My eyes opened. More light.
 Light spilling into the room from an open door, the shape of a man
 standing in the doorway. I move to sit, my hands on the bars of the
 cell. The man moves down the stairs and crosses to the wall. A thump,
 the hum of power, the center of the dungeon flashes bright,
 illuminating the small stone platform there. A woman is outlined
 briefly in the doorway, then gone, the solid door closes behind her.
 The man goes to the pool of light, takes down the rope from it's hook,
 tests the pulley which hangs from the roof. He wears black pants,
 leather I guess, and a small black vest. His feet are bare. He bends,
 using a tool on the floor. I watch him lift a plug from the surface of
 the platform, replacing it with a metal ring, turning it into place.
 He moves a bit and repeats the procedure. Two strong looking rings on
 the stone platform, about a half meter apart. The rope from above
 hangs in the center. The man looks up, he needs something. He stands,
 steps off the platform to walk towards my cage.

 [end part 3/4]

Asteroid, Mine
 [part 4/4]
		   --=--


 Asteroid, Mine  [chapter 6]

 Steve stood before the cage. Cindy joined him. I stood up. Steve
 sniffed the air, the smell coming from my cell. The smell, I realized,
 of warm sweet straw mixed with the musk of my previous lust.

 "Tsk, tsk." Steve said.

 "Someone has been having fun." Added Cindy.

 I hung my head in shame. Steve took the key from his pocket and
 unlocked the cell door, then pulled it open. He stepped back. After a
 moment I moved to step out of the cage onto the cool stone floor.
 Cindy was ready with a brush, passing it all over my body to remove
 the strands of straw clinging to me. The stiff bristle scratched my
 skin a bit. Cindy seemed to pay more attention to my breasts than was
 necessary as she scrubbed the brush over my nipples. She had me spread
 my legs while she rubbed between them with the brush. The pieces of
 straw were glued on between my thighs and she began using her fingers
 to pluck the strands away from around my pussy. At times she would
 draw a piece of straw through my pussy lips making me tremble and
 shake.

 "Enough."

 At the command Cindy stood up and moved me away from the front of the
 cell. She bent to sweep up all the loose straw and flick it back into
 the cage. Steve took my arm and guided me over to the stone platform.
 He let go to stand behind me. When I tried to step up the ankle chain
 pulled tight and my toes hit the edge an inch below the top. Steve
 stood behind me, waiting. I moved my feet closer to the platform and
 tried again. I strained against the shackles and managed to hook my
 toes over the edge. Steve stood behind me, ready, I realised, to grab
 me if I fell. I put all my weight on the toes of that foot and lifted
 myself up onto the platform. I paused a moment, then moved to stand in
 the center underneath the hanging rope.

 The man stepped up beside me. He handed one end of the rope to Cindy,
 then tied a loop about two meters from the other end. He took my hands
 by the chain between the shackles and raised them up to my face. I
 watched him thread the end down through one cuff and then up through
 the other. Then he passed the end through the loop above and tied a
 simple slip knot, snugging it down firmly. He turned to Cindy who
 pulled on the rope to take up the slack, then to draw my hands up over
 my head. She looped the rope over the hook in the column, then waited.

 The man used two short pieces of rope to bind my feet to the rings set
 into the stone. He pushed the shackle on one ankle up and tied the
 rope around my ankle just above my foot. Then he tied it to the ring.
 He did the same to my other foot. My legs were now spread apart. When
 he let the other shackle drop I could feel the outward pull of the
 ropes on one side of my ankles combine with the inward pull from the
 chain and shackles. Steve stepped off the platform to take the rope
 from Cindy. He pulled, raising my hands higher, then he pulled some
 more. My arms stretched up over my head. I could no longer reach the
 end of the rope and the knot that would free me. I felt the bite of
 all four of the hard steel shackles against my flesh. I raised up on
 my toes to ease some of the strain. That was a mistake. Steve had been
 waiting for me to do that. He tugged on the rope again, removing all
 my slack, then lashed the rope to the hook on the column.

 I struggled briefly in my bonds for a few moments while Steve and
 Cindy watched. Then I began to settle a little. I began to resign
 myself to my predicament. I tried to find a balance between the strain
 on my toes keeping me up and the strain on my wrists if I relaxed
 them. There was no good point of balance to be found. I closed my eyes
 and a small moan escaped my lips.

 I felt a movement as Steve stepped up in front of me. He gently cupped
 my chin in his hand and gazed deep into my eyes, searching. I let my
 eyes give that almost imperceptible sign, I was ready. He smiled. I
 leaned my head into his warm hand, letting his touch steel me for what
 was to follow. Steve moved closer and gave me a whisper soft kiss on
 my forehead. Then he lowered his hand and stepped off the platform,
 leaving me hanging alone to ready myself.

 My eyes followed him as he walked to the rack and selected a whip. I
 saw Cindy cross to the stairs to sit, making herself comfortable for
 the show. Steve selected a multi tailed flogger from the rack, then
 returned before me to show it to me. It was a wicked looking device,
 perhaps ten strips of brown leather 10 mm. wide, hanging down about a
 half meter from the handle. Steve spun the handle between his palms
 and the strips fanned out in a circle. He then waved the whip through
 the air before me and let it crash down on the stone at my feet. I
 heard the loud smack and swallowed a lump in my throat.

 Steve stared once more into my eyes. Yes. I was ready. He moved to
 take up a position at my rear. A few moments later I heard the sound
 of those strands flying through the air followed by a sharp crack. The
 pain flared across both cheeks of my bum. I jerked against the bonds
 at the impact, then settled. I took stock.

 I had felt every one of those strips striking my ass. It had hurt, of
 course, but it hadn't been at all like I had expected it would be.
 Sparkles of pain which had spread out and dissipated rather quickly.
 Steve gave me a few moments to adjust, then I heard, and braced for
 another blow.

 The same place, sideways across both cheeks, but the other way, from
 left to right. Crack! Again the shock, the sudden sting flaring
 bright, then dying away, leaving a warm glow in it's wake. Crack!
 another blow, same way. Again, the opposite direction. One more blow
 and Steve paused, moving to stand in front of me once more. That's it?

 Cindy had joined Steve to stand before me. He spoke.

 "Donna, we can stop now, if you want. You can be proud in how well you
 have stood up, for a first time. Do you want to end now?"

 My mind was spinning. But I couldn't get it in drive. I thought for a
 few moments. This whole experience had been nothing like I had
 thought. Chained in the cell, I had cum so nicely, and quickly, the
 last one took me before I even knew it. And now? I hung there shifting
 my weight from one foot to the other. My ass was burning, a bit. But
 it wasn't half as bad as I expected. And there was one more thing. On
 those last two strokes I had a sensation, a kind of a departure for
 places unknown. Was this the path that everyone was talking about?

 I looked up at Steve. I heard myself use that little girl voice that
 I'd heard Judy use. "No." I said. "Can we continue. Please?"

 There was a hint of a smile from them both. Steve said, "All right.
 Donna, it's sometimes easier if you yell and scream, if you want. To
 avoid any confusion we use what is called a safe word. When you say,
 Blue Moon, I stop. No, stop, please, help, all other sounds will be
 ignored until you say Blue Moon. Understand?"

 "Yes."

 "Please say the safe word now."

 "Blue moon." I'd never seen a moon that was blue.

 "Good." Steve said. "I want you to know that you won't come to any
 real harm tonight. I know what I'm doing. O.K?"

 "All right."

 Steve set the flogger down on the stone beside me. He went back to the
 rack and selected a thin wood cane, testing it's flex by bending it,
 and a whip, a single strand. These items he set down on the stone
 platform and he took up the flogger once more. Cindy sat on a bench
 off to my right. Steve took his position behind me.

 Steve took up where he'd left off, on my bum. But he didn't limit his
 torture to that one area. Because of my position, stretched up and
 open, he took full advantage, bringing that flogger to bear all over
 me. He didn't hit me on my lower legs, my arms, head or feet. But
 everywhere else was fair game. He went softly on my lower back, my
 kidneys. And my breasts, delightful pain there. Steve warmed me all
 over with the flogger, then set it down to take up the switch.

 I'd yelled and screamed under the flogger but that springy stick
 brought out a much higher note of anguish. Steve didn't need to put
 muscle behind the blows, the thin wood left stinging fire wherever it
 landed. I howled when it found the tender spot on each side of my
 pussy and then gently insinuated itself smack in the middle, between
 the lips, the tip softly grazing my clit. Once I had all my weight on
 my hands, trying to curl up in a ball, I guess. My feet were just
 above the surface of the stone.. Steve bounced the switch off the stone
 twice, quickly, before I could react, slashing the sole of one foot,
 then the other. That hurt seemed to radiate lightning fast up my legs
 and spine to blast out the top of my head.

 The flogger had been the lift off. The cane, the full burn. I was
 rushing headlong into the unknown. On course, all systems go. Then,
 suddenly, I was there. My hand on the door. Throttle back, Steve
 exchanged the cane for the whip. It's length snaked around my body
 from one hip, across my chest, my left tit, and onwards, curling up
 through my armpit to tap me on my back. I lost it. Explosion. Major
 malfunction. Again the slash across, the other way this time. Tiny
 flare ups inside the debris field, another big explosion, rocking me to
 the core. The whip slashed across both nipples, quickly bringing me to
 the brink again, then down low to gently kiss me, there. My clit.
 Sending me crashing headlong over the edge once more. I screamed low
 and long as I rocked and shook. Wave after wave rocketed through me.
 Without end. I remember taking a huge breath, then holding it, riding
 it, knowing that if I didn't return soon I would soon be totally
 consumed by that white hot fire. But I couldn't turn away. A flash.
 The whip, again. Stoking that fire, blinding me. A high pitched
 keening echoing back to me, deafening.

 I fell from the sky, landing in a heap on the soft cool grass. I
 stirred and opened my eyes. Steel bars. I was lying on the straw in
 the cage, the door open, Steven and Cindy in the pool of yellow light,
 looking at me. Steven closed the door and locked it. Good night,
 Donna, I heard, from far away. They turned to go, climbing the stairs
 and shutting the dungeon door with a bang. I heard the scrape of the
 lock as the key was turned, then, nothing, save for the beating of my
 heart.

 Later on my eyes flickered open. I saw Cindy, sitting on the floor in
 front of my cage. I might have smiled. I closed my eyes and slept.

 At some point Steve and Cindy came to release me. The cage door was
 opened and they helped me over to the platform to sit, the cool stone
 feeling nice on my bum. Steve removed the shackles which had held me
 throughout that long night. They helped me to stand, then supported me
 as I walked up the stairs, out of the dungeon and up into their kitchen
 once more. Sunlight streaming through the windows blinded me and I
 moaned. Cindy took me through the house to their bedroom and a big
 bathtub full of cool scented water. As I passed the mirror I looked,
 but the sight didn't register on my brain. The water stung a little as
 Cindy eased my sore body into the tub. She turned the jets on low, the
 water swirling around me felt good. I looked up and smiled.

 "Cindy, I. . . "

 "Shhh." She cooed. "We'll talk later."

 I noticed the clock on the wall. 11:00. Twelve hours. A lifetime.

 Cindy came back for me an hour later. I must have slept in their tub
 as the water washed around me. I felt better. I stood up and Cindy
 gently patted me dry with a soft fluffy towel. After I got out I
 examined myself in the mirror. My sight didn't look as alien as
 before. Cindy told me she used some mineral salts in the water to
 promote healing. She spread the towel across her bed and I lay down.
 Cindy used some skin lotion and rubbed it all over me where the whips
 had left their marks. She took her time rubbing me gently with her
 small soft hands, leaving me feeling great. All the stiffness was
 gone. My skin felt tender still, but I had survived, hadn't I. Cindy
 took me to my room and helped me dress. Steve came in and handed me a
 coffee. As a last thing she took my two little black bracelets and
 snapped them closed around my wrists.

 "You earned these last night," she said closing the strap. "I never
 saw anything like that in my life."

 Steve asked "How do you feel?"

 How did I feel. "Sore. Drained. Like I did a twenty hour shift in the
 mine."

 "I've never seen anything like that." he said. "You took the whole
 twelve rounds, Donna. For a first timer you were there. Hitting the
 peak like that doesn't happen very often. How do you feel?"

 How did I feel? "I feel more alive than I ever have before Steve,
 Thanks."

 "I thank you, Donna. For giving Cindy and me the honour of taking you
 there, for letting us witness it. That was some show."

 "Come," Cindy said, "let's get you something to eat."

 I walked with them to the kitchen. I laughed when I saw a fluffy
 pillow had been placed on one of the wooden chairs at the table.
 Outside the window, in the bright sunlight, the workers from yesterday
 were setting up a canopy and unloading tables and chairs from the
 truck. Cindy filled my coffee cup and placed a bowl of cut up fruit
 pieces before me.

 I didn't think I was all that hungry but after the fruit I ate some
 pancakes with sweet jam and syrup. Then came two fried eggs and a
 small steak with some fried onions and green peppers. When I mopped up
 the last of the egg and the juices from the meat with that lovely dark
 bread Cindy had, I sat back, carefully, feeling much refreshed. I was
 just done eating when Mark and Judy showed up. Over coffee and cake
 Steve and Cindy excitedly told them all about last night.

 At first I was a little shy about having the most intimate of details
 spoken in the broad daylight, but I became less bothered by it when I
 saw, Judy's in particular, their reaction to the tale being told by
 Steve. Both Mark and Judy kept glancing my way, a mixture of wonder
 and fascination on their faces. Cindy played mother hen dispite my
 protests and dragged me back to my bedroom so Mark and Judy could have
 a look at my marks.

 In the room Cindy helped me off with the shirt I had on, then I undid
 my skirt and let it fall to the floor. Judy gasped.

 "Oh, Donna."

 Mark said "Wow!."

 I turned around, watching myself in the mirror. Everywhere the flogger
 had touched was a dull reddish colour, fairly even all over. Bright
 red lines, tinged with white marked the path of the cane. Then, the
 curls of the whip where it had wrapped around me and left it's marks.
 I had some dark coloured bruising on my body, and also a few small
 bruises on my wrists and ankles, from those heavy shackles. My
 bracelets helped to cover the ones on my wrists. Cindy lay me down on
 the bed and told Mark to get out. Then the two girls spread more of
 the soothing skin cream over my tortured flesh and began to gently rub
 it into me.

 I thought I would never need to have an orgasm again, after that last
 one downstairs but, as the two rubbed the cream all over me, my
 passions once again began to stir. It was Judy who noticed first as my
 nipples hardened under her touch. Cindy traced a finger through my
 slit, making me jump, feeling the growing wetness there. She giggled.
 The two girls then proceed to drive me forward, over the cliff,
 straight into a lovely little cum which left me writhing and
 breathless on the bed. After a while they helped me up to stand before
 the mirror once more. Now my flushed face and neck matched the redness
 of the rest of me. After much giggling they helped me dress and we
 went back to the kitchen.

 Steve was shaking his head when we entered. Mark had a big grin on his
 face. Apparently the antics in the bedroom had not gone unnoticed.

 "Jeez Donna, don't you ever get enough?" Steve asked jokingly.

 For the next hour we sat and discussed what had happened in Steve's
 dungeon last night. From the things they told me I was able to piece
 together the events, and gain a much better understanding of the
 reactions I'd had. Near the end I had been so out of my mind with lust
 I hadn't really been aware of what happened. Cindy filled me in, how
 the passion had taken complete control of my body even as the flames
 of it consumed me. The power released then had enveloped the both of
 them, filling the room with a force so wondrous it was almost beyond
 description. Steve said it was almost more than he could bear,
 watching me up there. It was all that he could do to steady his hand,
 to give my body the final touches, to maintain those searing flames
 until all had been scorched clean.

 Afterwards Steve had held me while Cindy lowered my hands. When I was
 untied he carried my limp but still trembling body to the cell and
 gently lay me down on the straw. They both waited until they were sure
 I'd be all right before leaving me.

 "When you first opened your eyes," Steve said, "In the cell,
 afterwards. For a brief moment I saw no one there, and I was afraid.
 But then you groaned and I saw the life force flow back into your eyes
 and I knew that you had made it. That you had taken the trip and had
 returned safely. Locking the cage and walking away was hard for me. I
 wanted to take you up and comfort you. But I also knew you needed some
 time by yourself, to come to terms with what had happened."

 I took Steve's hand. "You were right," I said, "to give me that time
 alone. I woke, a couple times, sore, chained, alone. But in my mind I
 was still standing on that wondrous plateau, overlooking that place I
 had touched. The hurt will pass, but that place will be with me
 always. Now, about that straw. Whose idea was that, anyway?"

 I told them about the fight I'd had with the straw, how I'd gotten my
 hands stuck behind me and then, and then, that big cum that had snuck
 up on me. All three laughed hard at that one. Cindy owned up to the
 straw idea. She admitted to something similar happening to her down
 there in that cage. We were still laughing about it when the guests
 began to arrive for the party.

Asteroid, Mine
 Asteroid, Mine  [chapter 7]

 The party was great. Friends of Mark and Judy, family, co-workers.
 Also friends and family of Cindy and Steve. There must have been well
 over 200 people at their farm that day. I met lots of really nice
 people that day. Occasionally someone, or a couple, would come up to me
 and we'd have a whispered conversation. Apparently word of last night
 was spreading amongst `those in the know'. I began to feel like I was
 being welcomed to a club. I began feeling pride in what happened, how
 well I seemed to take to it. Dear Ceylon dragged me off and made me
 show her. She tenderly ran her fingers across the marks, the raised
 welts on my back and bum. She hugged my naked body close as we stood
 in the bedroom.

 "I've never been into the rough stuff," she told me, "but I knew of
 others who were. Sweet Cindy told me how you handled it, what happened
 downstairs. I'm pleased that you found what you were looking for."

 A band had set up on a stage just inside the open barn. There was food
 and the drink flowed freely. I wandered around the barn. I saw, along
 one wall, pipes which seemed to lead down, pipes for air and power. A
 shed attached to the outside of the barn. The other entrance to the
 dungeon. The open field between the house and barn. The tables set up
 there. I wondered how many people sitting there knew what lay beneath
 the ground.

 Cindy found me out, asked how I was doing. Fine. I looked deep into
 her eyes, thanks, for everything. A huge truck had pulled up and men
 were unloading a giant's barbecue. Cases of food. After a while a
 feast, the likes of which I had never seen was ready. Beer flowed, I
 stuffed myself with the wondrous food. Danced to the beat of the band,
 It was a super party.

 It was well past midnight when the party wound down and the last
 guests left. Tim, Mark, and others, had offered me a bed in their
 homes but I wanted to stay at Steve's farm for my last night. I
 thanked all those who had made this such a perfect vacation for me.
 After we were alone Steve mentioned the dungeon again but I said I'd
 rather take the bedroom. He said that would be better.

 "Something like what happened last night," he said, "doesn't happen too
 often. You may not experience it again, may not want to, or even need
 to. Donna, I'm pleased that I was given the chance to show you the
 way."

 I thanked Steve and Cindy again, for everything, for the wonderful
 party. I was asleep even before my head hit the pillow, stretched out
 on that big soft, cozy bed. I'd left the curtains open so the sun woke
 me early the next morning. After a shower I looked at myself in the
 mirror. All the marks were still plainly visible but much of the pain
 had left and I felt great. Cindy served me a nice breakfast then Steve
 and her drove me to the spaceport and out to my shuttle.

 "If you're ever out this way again don't forget to come see us." Steve
 said.

 I promised that I would and thanked them once more for everything. As
 I settled in the seat I watched them drive off thinking what a
 wonderful happy couple they were. I powered up the ship and lifted
 off. I watched on the screen as the planet dwindled and dimmed, finally
 disappearing as my ship powered away.

 I decided to take the long way home to see some nebula near the
 Chinese sector. It was worth the trip, the brightly coloured clouds
 sparkled beautifully in the wash of the energy fields while music from
 the discs I'd bought blasted from the ship's speakers. I stopped off
 at New Peking and found a great restaurant near the spaceport there.
 Then after lunch I set course for home.

 I was relaxing in the chair, dreaming, when the auto dumped me down to
 sub-light. A rogue asteroid hurtled past the ship at incredible
 speed. I set course to follow. I ran a spectral analysis on the debris
 field following the asteroid and discovered some fine metals there.
 The rock's unusual shape, it's speed and wobble suggested high density.
 I watched as it approached a red dwarf star, curved around, then
 slowed and headed off again.

 The asteroid approached a large planet, Casandra 4 the chart told me.
 Big ball of frozen ammonia, mostly. The rock encountered the planet's
 gravity and changed course again. I held station and watched it come
 around the other side heading back towards me. The big rock curved
 again. A one in a billion chance. I watched the asteroid end it's
 wanderings and after several passes around the planet it achieved a
 high, stable orbit. Ain't life grand.

 I fired a pinger into the rock, claiming it for I SAM and recorded the
 find in my ship's log. Then I powered up to pick up my course for home
 again.

 I knew I was late back at work. I rushed in and dropped off ship's
 log, then ran to clock in for my shift. My supervisor intercepted me
 at the punch clock.

 "Your late!" he roared. "Shift started an hour ago."

 I knew it was mostly an act, but I played along.

 "Sorry boss." I started. "But I found. . . "

 "Never mind the excuses!" he yelled. I could see he was trying not to
 laugh. "Gave your shift to Jackson. You Look Like SHIT! Didn't you get
 any sleep?"

 I supposed I did look like shit. If boss only knew! I sagged down,
 acting the part.

 "Get lost. Report back tomorrow. 1500, GOT IT! Not," He glanced at the
 clock "16:27, oh fuck."

 He was late for the staff meeting. My laughter followed him down the
 hall.

 I went to my room and changed. I put on a one piece leotard, one I'd
 never worn but covered me completely. I did a workout in the grav gym,
 slow at first but as I loosened up I started to feel like my old self
 again. I went back to quarters and took a private shower rather than
 have anyone see the marks all over me at the gym. I poked at dinner in
 the cafeteria. Ugh. After the food I'd had on Crydon this stuff was
 vile. Even if you spent the credits and had stuff brought in it still
 paled in comparison. Back in my little room I read some mail, watched
 the news then hit the sack.

 Life for me continued much as it left off. People did notice I seemed
 a bit more cheerful, a little more full of life now. I got a few
 comments about the leather bracelets I still wore. The ones I hadn't
 taken off since Cindy put them back on me that morning. The bruises
 they hid disappeared after a week, along with most of the other marks
 on me. The ones that were left were going away more slowly.
 Sometimes, at night in bed, I would feel a twinge from one of those
 marks and I would remember. That amazing event that touched my very
 soul. And I would smile.

 Eleven days after my return I sensed a buzz around the station. When
 ever I asked, no one would tell me anything. Around mid morning Boss
 came up and told me to go see the old man on the top floor. I'd met
 the owner only once before. Was I in shit for something?

 Upstairs the secretary met me at the lift and escorted me into the
 owner's office. When he asked her to fetch us tea I assumed I wasn't
 there to get fired. After we'd settled in he brought up a file on the
 big screen. It was a lab report of an asteroid which was orbiting a
 planet called Casandra 4.

 "When I saw your log report," the man said, "I got a feeling that you
 may have found something interesting." He read off some figures from
 his screen. "A million five metric tonnes of gold, Six eight platinum,
 seven fifty lead. The survey crew reports the metals seem totally
 separate encased in the rock, ninety nine percent pure. Quite the
 find."

 I was stunned. He went on. "We've closed the operation on Gandel and
 are sending that crew to visit your little rock. Naturally your
 finder's fee should end up to be quite a sizable amount of credit. The
 company will have to make the deposits to your account over a period
 of time, say five years?"

 The owner wrote a number on some paper and handed it to me. "This is
 just an estimate based on the lab report on the samples we took. When
 the crew gets set up and starts working we may have to increase that
 amount."

 A year's pay for me. Every week. For five years. Wow.

 The owner said, "Gold has been in short supply for too long now. You
 know the uses for it, electronics, shielding. The other metals too.
 Platinum filters, yes, your little find will mean a big step forward
 for humanity.

 I was speechless. We stood up and the owner shook my hand. "Take some
 time, Donna, decide what you want to do with your new found wealth.
 Anything you need, just call me and it's yours."

 As he showed me to the door he turned and said "Oh by the way. I heard
 from an old friend the other day. Steven and Cindy said to say hi.
 Good luck Donna."


 [Epilogue]

 With my new found wealth I did some travelling. I got my shuttle fixed
 up in the I SAM shop. New engines, controls. I didn't want a new ship,
 this one had character that suited me. I had only minor repairs done
 to the hull, the dents and scratches stayed.

 First stop, Judy and Marks wedding on Mars colony. They were ever so
 happy to see me, as was I to see them again so soon. I went down to
 old Earth with Mark to see for myself some of the wonders Tim had
 shown me.

 A month later found me wandering the galaxy stopping at other worlds,
 sampling the cultures there. Now, I'm bound for Crydon. I wonder If
 uncle Jeff knows of any good land for sale in the south?

 [End of story  Asteroid, Mine]

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