by Corin Cain
“I was only following the statute of law,” I retort.
“You were abusing the statute of law,” Iunia responds coldly. “You know full well that if Captain Aelon had backed down and hadn’t meted out a punishment, he’d lose the respect of his men. If he’d refused to allow you to accept the punishment your men deserved, he’d have demonstrated that he didn’t respect the honor of command.” Then, Iunia’s eyes narrow. “When you challenged him, you chose to play a game. Now, you must claim the prize.”
I open my mouth to answer, but nothing comes out. Iunia stated his case so simply – so inarguably – that the anger I feel towards Captain Aelon sinks from a furious boil to a dull simmer.
I realize he’s right. I’m no victim. I forced Captain Aelon’s hand - and now I’m going to suffer the consequences of my actions.
Sawoot grabs my shoulder, squeezing it like she always does when our backs are against the wall.
“I’ll be okay, Tash.” Then, she turns to the towering Aurelian. “So, I see you’re the smart one of the triad. In which case, why do you follow a man like Aelon?”
Iunia stares down at Sawoot and shrugs.
“It’s my fate.”
Then, Iunia starts walking down the hallway again. Reluctantly, we follow.
As I stride down the hallway, I once again notice the scratches in the wall, the flickering lights, and the soot and scorch marks from recently replaced panels and vents.
As fearsome as The Instigator appears, this warship really is an old beast. She’s akin to a fearsome old wolf, roughshod after years of tough living. A wolf like that might lose an eye or a tooth, but still has a lot of fight left in it. I imagine The Instigator remains a fearsome weapon of war even if she’s seen much better days.
We reach the end of the corridor. Iunia has led us to a huge set of steel doors. He presses a button and they slide open, accompanied by a cacophony of sound.
The wave of noise hits me like a slap to the face. Iunia leads me forward, and as I step into the room beyond the huge doors, I see it’s packed full.
We’ve stepped into what must be the ship’s mess hall – and I’m being served as dessert. Two long rows of tables are packed with Aurelians soldiers, some with fresh wounds, others with old scars. They’re all drinking, eating, and laughing among themselves – as rowdy and testosterone-filled as any group of men I’ve ever seen.
But as soon as I walk into the room, the raucous sounds soften and all eyes turn to me. The leering eyes make me want to throw up. It’s clear there’s not an Aurelian in this room who doesn’t want to rip off my clothes and be the one to spank my bare bottom – and that’s just for starters.
In front of the rows of tables are the seats of honor.
Chris, Zander, Tom, Felix and Theme sit there – so small and childlike against the backdrop of all those towering, jeering Aurelians.
The five of them are looking at me, and four of them are grinning like animals. Only Theme can’t meet my gaze. He looks downward, more ashamed to be there than I am.
That gives me some solace. Chris and the others, though – they’re disgusting pigs.
The men I’d thought were loyal members of my crew are now snickering at the sacrifice I’m making for them. They forget that they could have been up in front of this very crowd, being made an example of with twenty harsh lashes of the whip. I spared them agonizing pain and welts and scars they’d wear for a lifetime. Why did I even bother?
I realize now that I’ll never be good enough for them. They were only ever with me because I paid well and I knew how to pick and execute the most profitable jobs. Being good at my job, however – and securing them fat hauls as a result - apparently still isn’t enough to earn their respect.
Well, screw them! It’ll be humiliating and painful, but if this ordeal offers me anything, it’s the knowledge that my loyalty to these men was a mistake – and one I won’t soon repeat.
As I stand in front of the braying crowd, Iunia silently takes Sawoot to the side of the mess hall. She isn’t made to stand near the other men of my crew – and the hungry eyes of the all-male Aurelian soldiers shift to my first officer as she’s led in front of them.
Once again, it hits me that there isn’t a single woman on this ship – other than myself and Sawoot, of course. We’re like two juicy fillet mignon, dangling in front of a kennel of hungry wolves.
I watch the Aurelian escorting Sawoot across the room. I barely know Iunia – but even though he has a rough exterior and a maze of scars crisscrossing his body, I’m reassured that he’s standing next to my first officer; offering her protection from the intentions of his sex-starved men.
Then the eyes turn from Sawoot to a new arrival. Striding through the door of the mess hall and taking position at the front of the room – like a performer taking center stage – is Captain Aelon. His battle-brother Vinicus stands just behind him.
The two make an impressive sight. Aelon is as handsome and dashing as ever, and Vinicus looms like a hulking beast, nearly as wide as he stands tall. That vivid, full sleeve of tattoos on his massive arm just makes him look even more dangerous than he does already. Vinicus is still clad in the light combat armor he wears to the Scorp caverns – as if he never takes it off. The armor doesn’t do much to hide his incredible physique, though – and his trap muscles make Vinicus’s neck look as thick and unyielding as a tree trunk. I sense that any man trying to punch Vinicus would only end up with a broken fist.
But even more intimidating than Vinicus’s sheer size and bulk is his presence – like, right now, he’s staring at me soundlessly, but the heat of his gaze makes me tremble. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the cold, slate-grey eyes of an Aurelian – so cold and alien.
At the center of the mess hall – in a cleared-out area akin to a stage - stands an immense, wooden chair. I instantly know what that’s for – it’s built to the scale of a towering Aurelian, and is sturdy enough to support both the massive warrior and anybody unlucky enough to be flung over his lap.
Captain Aelon is resting his hand on the huge chair nonchalantly, like it’s just a regular piece of furniture placed there at random. He’s cocky and, as always, in complete control of the situation as he stands before his men.
“Well, well, well,” the towering captain grins as I stand in front of him, “if it isn’t the troublemaker herself. Why don’t you take a seat, my dear – and face the crowd?”
His grin infuriates me, as do his words. I want to slap that smirk right off his too-handsome face.
Vinicus, standing behind him, has a blank, hungry look on his face. It’s a stark contrast to Aelon’s cool, cynical cunning. I sense Vinicus is more animal than man.
I hold my head up high. It’s not easy, though. Every instinct in my body is telling me to look down at my feet – to avert my eyes in shame. There are snickers from the Aurelians and that just makes this humiliation burn all the more intently.
Men.
Even after hundreds of years of life, Aurelians are just typical men – and they still act like teenagers.
But what can I do? I have to sit down in that huge chair and accept my fate. If I back down now, it’s my crew that’s going to suffer – not that Chris and those lugs don’t deserve it.
But I do what I must. I step forward and clamber onto the oversized chair. My feet don’t even touch the ground as I sit there; and when I settle into position, I find myself facing the hundreds of grey, colorless eyes that stare back at me – fixated on me. The chatter and jeering dies down, and suddenly there’s only silence.
Aelon steps forward, gesturing towards Chris and the other rebellious members of my crew.
“The five men sitting there tried to escape the brig, where they were rightfully detained. They injured one of our crew in the process. For that, they must be punished.”
There’s a roar of approval from the crowd, and the corner of Captain Aelon’s lip quirks in approval.
He continues:
�
��The captain of their vessel has selflessly agreed to accept their punishment in lieu – as is her right under the Spacefaring Code. However, her men have been sentenced to twenty lashes each…”
There’s a hush across the room, as the Aurelians – some of whom have presumably suffered lashes themselves – consider the impact of receiving such punishment on my small, human frame.
Raising his hand, as if to reassure his men’s unspoken concerns, Aelon clarifies:
“I determined that killing this captain by subjecting her to a hundred lashes would be a terrible waste.” His eyes flash as he says that. “After a brief negotiation, the captain has wisely elected to accept a different form of punishment – one more suited to her more… delicate nature.”
I bristle when I hear that word. Even in comparison to those towering, seven-feet-tall Aurelians, I object to being described as delicate.
But that’s part of the game, isn’t it? That’s part of Aelon’s punishment.
Confirming that, he continues: “She’s been naughty, and now she’s earned a spanking.”
There’s a chorus of wolf whistles and jeers from the crowd of Aurelians. My cheeks burn in humiliation. Tears spring to my eyes. I’m a defiant, badass, brilliant starship captain…
…and he’s describing me like a naughty little girl.
But I keep my head held up, proud and defiant against the legion of leering, laughing eyes.
I am a captain.
I’m doing this for my crew – even if they don’t deserve it.
I am doing this for Theme – because he surely does.
I glance over at Sawoot, and the sight of her worried expression gives me strength. With my best friend in the same room as me, I feel like I can endure anything – even this.
“Now then, Captain Tasha,” Aelon growls. “You can remove your pants – or I can do it for you.”
There’s a hushed gasp across the room as a hundred horny Aurelian warriors imagine me stripping my overall pants off – or Aelon tearing them off for me.
He grins as he continues:
“The hundred lashes owed to your men will be commuted to a hundred spanks on your gorgeous ass. I think we can all agree that’s a fair exchange – and a better result for all of us.”
My cheeks flush red. A hundred spanks? Gods – how humiliating! Why so many?
I mean, I suppose it makes sense – a hundred lashes, exchanged for a hundred spanks – but right at that second I think I’d almost prefer the agonizing taste of the lash.
Yet, that’s no longer an option.
So, I force myself to my feet – unbuttoning my work pants off, yanking them down around my ankles, and finally kicking them aside with an angry snarl. I stand there in my t-shirt…
…and nothing else.
My skin crawls as a hundred or more Aurelians stare at my bare ass and exposed pussy. The glare of my crew is even more humiliating. After sharing a tiny spaceship for months, Chris and the others have seen flashes of me naked countless times – but those had always felt… different.
There’s something intrinsically sexual about this current situation, and I can sense Chris and the others staring at me in a way they never have before – with lust.
It disgusts me.
But maybe I should be grateful. There was a time not too long ago during which I thought I was facing certain death – when we were being pursued by those Toad missiles. I’m not sure which would have killed me – the immense explosion, or asphyxiation in the dead of space – but neither option was an improvement on my current situation.
Now, instead of the coldness of space, I’m going to face the searing heat of a rough Aurelian spanking – but I’ll survive it, even if my dignity and self-respect doesn’t.
I move to sit back down – but I don’t get that chance.
Suddenly, Vinicus steps forward – scooping me up as if I’m weightless. I gasp as I’m swept up into his huge, strong arms – and then he sets me down over his lap like I’m nothing but a naughty child.
Vinicus a fucking beast of a man – with legs the width and firmness of tree trunks. I’m pressed down across them, stretched out over the rough material of his armored combat pants. They’re designed out of armored microfilaments and Kevlar mesh – built to deflect the power and sharpness of Scorp claws – and the material is harsh against my bare skin.
I shiver. Making this situation even more humiliating is how it’s not playing out as I’d anticipated. I’d been expecting Captain Aelon to do the honors – he looked like the kind of proud, preening bastard who’d delight in it.
It would have been particularly embarrassing to be spanked by that smug captain – but this is so unexpected that I’m not even sure how to react to it.
Vinicus is intimidating in a baser way. I barely know this huge, looming Aurelian, and I have no idea what to expect from him. I test him, shifting in his lap…
…and then gasp as he effortlessly pins me down, with one hand placed on the small of my back.
It’s barely an effort for him. The huge alien is so strong and powerful that he can do whatever he likes to me, and there’d be nothing I could do to stop him. I’m so powerless.
As I lie across Vinicus’s lap, Captain Aelon steps in front of me, blocking my view of the crowd for a moment.
I look up, fire in my eyes, but he remains unperturbed – studying me with those imperious, slate-grey eyes.
Vinicus holds me in his lap, and I have to turn my head to the right to meet Aelon’s gaze as he looms over me.
“You chose this path, Tasha,” he warns. Then, the Captain grins. The conceit is dripping from him. “You chose this – because I suspect some part of you wants this.”
How dare he!
I try to curse at the haughty bastard, but I don’t get the chance. As soon as I open my mouth, the first slap of Vinicus’s huge palm comes crashing down on my bare bottom.
A sound like a gunshot echoes across the mess hall. That curse turns to a yelp of pain on my tongue. A blossom of white, hot agony ripples across my bare ass.
Fuck!
This isn’t a sensual, erotic punishment. This isn’t teasing or playful. This is real – pure dominance and discipline. This is payback for my men hurting one of Aelon’s soldiers.
Vinicus’s voice suddenly growls from above me.
“I’m comrades with the guard your crewmembers tried to gut,” the Aurelian snarls, as he lifts his hand for another spank. “We served together during our hundred years of service. He saved my life twice.”
Vinicus’s words are so low-pitched that they emerge from his mouth as more of a rumble – something that I feel more than hear. The words hurt me, as I realize that the crime of my crewmembers is much more personal to this Aurelian than I’d anticipated.
These marble-skinned bastards are so huge and powerful that it’s easy to think of them as invincible, and impervious to human frailties. I realize now that they’re just men – just more man than Chris, Felix, or any of the other human men I’m used to interacting with.
Vinicus presses me down across his lap again, pinning me with that hand on the small of my back. His skin is achingly hot against mine.
Then, he brings his immense palm down again, hard on my left ass-cheek this time.
Sharp, red-hot pain flares across my tender flesh – but it’s the chorus of laughter and hoots from the Aurelians that I find almost as painful as the physical punishment.
Almost.
I grit my teeth and force my head to the right. My crew is leering at me, just as disrespectfully as those testosterone-fueled Aurelian warriors.
The sight of Chris smiling so wolfishly is what hurts the most. He’s grinning at the sight of the captain he resents so much being punished in front of him – for his wrongdoing! It makes me realize how wasted all my patience and generosity was with that man – he’d never have respected me, no matter what I did for him.
But the laughter of my crew quickly wilts under my stare. As I glar
e at them, their snickers catch on their lips. Guilt washes over them – and even Chris looks down at his boots, shifting uncomfortably in his seat under my accusing gaze.
The Aurelians have no such qualms, however – and why would they?
Over a hundred pairs of eyes are staring at me hungrily, with rapt attention. I can see the naked hunger burning in their ubiquitous, slate-grey gaze. These warrior-beasts have been pent up in this warship for Gods-know-how-long, without a single woman to sate their legendary sexual appetites…
…and now I’m here, clad in only my black, sensible t-shirt in front of them. To the Aurelians’ eyes, my bare ass probably look as appetizing as the ripest, juiciest fruit would to a man dying of starvation.
The third spank hits me hard. The crack echoes across the mess hall, and I feel the flesh of my backside jiggle as pain blossoms across it.
I drop my head this time, looking down at the floor. I don’t have the strength to hold my head up anymore. Exhaustion has overwhelmed my pride.
Vinicus grunts as the sharp crack of flesh-on-flesh fills the room again. It’s taking all my self-restraint not to whimper and cry out in pain – and we’re only on the third spank.
Towering above us both, Captain Aelon stands stock still. He’s looking down at me as if I’m a delicious, steaming plate of dinner. Yet I know the weight of command weighs heavy on his shoulders – that as enjoyable as this spectacle is, it’s also necessary. He couldn’t have let me off easy – not after what Chris and my men tried to do to his crewmember.
My fate is humiliating, shameful and painful – but this was the only option. Aelon’s punishment was the only way forward that wouldn’t lead to serious harm to me or my men. I think everybody in this room – from Chris and my crew to the nameless, faceless Aurelian soldiers watching me – understand that the pain I’m suffering is more than just physical. I had to surrender my dignity as well. In some ways, this spanking is more brutal than a hundred lashes – precisely because I’ll still be alive at the end of it.
