Chapter 26 First Formal Lesson, Rafe
FIRST FORMAL LESSON, RAFE
As we walk in to the Staff Dining Hall this morning, I’m not surprised that conversation is subdued; everyone is unsettled after last night’s penance, because everyone partakes in the Eclipse Kiss, but only sloppy people get caught.
So they sit straighter when Lorian and I walk by, all the staff tiers stiff with ritual respect.
My attention fixes on Eve Eden. Hungover and pale, she sits with the other receptionists. She either doesn’t feel my eyes on her or is trying to disappear.
As soon as Lorian and I are seated, I raise my hand. Then, a server sets the Devotional goblet before Eve. I stand and make an announcement. “Eve Eden, this Devotional goblet is sent in the Sovereigns' names.”
Every head turns to watch Eve as she rises unsteadily. She looks up at me innocently, as if she didn’t try to turn the tables on me last night.
Lira whispers something to her, probably protocol, and then Eve slowly picks up the goblet.
“Raise it,” I instruct. “And drink. Let everyone bear witness to your status in the Ascendant Alliance.”
I know the staff will whisper about this.
Once is ceremony. Twice, in two consecutive days, is extreme favoritism.
Some will even remember the old Imperial rites; two offerings in succession is a mark of binding.
But what our staff doesn’t know is that this is none of those things.
This second Devotional Drink is merely to show our sex-crazed human employee that she is ours and that we will train her into submission.
Eve only hesitates for a second before her pink lips meet the goblet's edge and she begins swallowing our seed. This morning, we purposely left it as it is without any juice to mask its taste.
I watch as her throat works and she swallows. One, two, three, four, five. Yes, drink it down. She takes the goblet away from her mouth and her lips glisten as she licks them clean. Then looks up at us and bows low. “Thank you, Sovereigns. You honor me.”
Lorian says quietly, for my ears alone, “Now all our employees will know how obediently and sweetly she takes us.”
I am satisfied. She complied last night, and she has complied this morning. She has even thanked us for it. Good, this means her intellect is overriding her base human desires. I am confident now, than I was yesterday, that we’ll be able to train her.
Eve arrives precisely on time for our first lesson, pausing in the doorway and then bowing formally.
The gesture is correct, but immediately I remember her bow from this morning after she drank the Devotional Drink, and I wonder how I am going to get through this without taking advantage of her sexually. “Rise.”
But this is not the place for it. Here, we must both be attentive and disciplined. I must shape her into an Ascendant Alliance representative.
“Your collar is crooked,” I say. It isn’t.
She blinks, confused, but lifts her hands to adjust it, anyway.
I let her fumble for a moment longer than necessary before nodding. “Better,” I say. It’s a reminder that even here, even dressed, her body answers to me.
“We will begin your training now. You are no longer a Terra Sanctum employee; you’re now a liaison for the Ascendant Alliance at the Celestial Spire. Every misstep you make will be seen as ours.”
“I understand, Sovereign.”
I let her stand in silence for half a minute before saying, “Step forward.”
She obeys.
“Slower,” I correct. “Every movement should be deliberate. Even the way you cross a room should be a testimony to your discipline and character.”
She tries again, one measured step at a time. Her movement lacks discipline.
“Better. Now stand there. Hands behind your back. Lift your chin.”
I get up and walk over to her. I circle her once, slowly, as if evaluating.
“Posture is power. When you bow, you bow as if every goddess in the galaxy is watching. When you speak, you speak for us. When you stand silent—” I pause behind her, close enough to see the fine hairs on her neck rise, “—you are still ours to see.”
“I understand, Sovereign.”
I return to my chair. “Again. From the door. Bow. Walk. Present yourself. Each time will be more perfect than the last.”
By the fifth repetition, each bow is deeper and every step more measured.
She obeys, but her large brown eyes betray her; they reflect her uncertainty.
Questioning whether or not I’m being professional.
And at this point, I don’t even know myself, but I am enjoying watching her walk and the way her hips sway.
And overall, the knowing that, for the moment, I have her under my control.
“Good,” I say. “But one more element remains.”
“Sovereign?”
“Kneel.”
Color floods her cheeks in that sweet human blush she’s prone to.
“In Imperial and Reima Two culture, subordinates kneel before their betters if asked to. When you present an offering or pledge devotion, you will kneel. It is protocol.”
Eve lowers herself, slowly and hesitantly. Her knees are resting on the floor, her back is straight, and her hands are resting lightly on her thighs.
“Look up,” I command.
She obeys me innocently.
“Stay like that.” My hand flexes against the armrest of my chair. “Next time, you will kneel without hesitation when asked to. Now sit.” I motion to the chair across from me.
She rises and settles into the chair opposite me.
“Before we begin,” I say, letting the silence settle, “you deserve to know how I intend to train you.”
I lift my IC so she can see it. The display shows her biometrics: heart rate, hormone curve, and stress index. “This controls your Venus Lock,” I tell her, matter-of-factly. “And I will use it to direct what your body is allowed to feel and when.”
I expand the screen between us so the pale bands of data glint over her face.
“My protocol is simple. Correct answers earn stimulation. Wrong answers earn denial and discipline. The goal is twofold. You will retain complex material under pressure, and you will learn to hold yourself in check when your barbaric base desires try to take over.”
I let that land, then add what matters most. “I tried credits and promotions with the humans before you, Yasmin and Denise. But they followed their sexual desires, not money. So, Lorian and I have decided to train you with the only lever that works on humans—orgasms,” I say, watching her face for understanding.
Instead, I get defiance. She stares at me like I’ve just insulted her species—which, in a way, I have.
“Sovereign,” she says carefully, “may I speak?”
“You may.”
“With respect, you’re wrong, Sovereign.”
“Really? I am quite confident this will work because from what I’ve witnessed so far, you are highly motivated by orgasms. On the Imperial ship, Igo, the doctor pleasured you with his instruments and then a human companion brought you to orgasm in front of all the officers.
And just last night, you made a scene taking off your clothing in the hopes that Lorian and I would grant you an orgasm from your Venus Lock.
So it seems that orgasms are your currency, and we are prepared to pay you in it. ”
“You think that’s all I am? You think orgasms are my only weakness? You think you’ve already seen everything that drives me?”
No human has ever challenged me so I will allow her to finish. “Enlighten me.”
“You’re reducing humans to only what you can measure, like we’re mindless animals.
We are not. Just because I am aroused by you doesn’t mean that all humans would welcome your attention or deserve to be collared.
” Her pulse is beating fast against her throat, but her gaze never falters which reflects her bravery.
Even men are known to cower before me. “You touch a human body and call it control, but that’s merely a reflex, it will never be true loyalty.
Give me autonomy and I will show you that I can do my job without your Venus Lock and your orgasmic control.
Then you will have my loyalty. Sovereign, it may surprise you to know, humans do a lot of other things besides chase sex, although it may seem like that because of what men on Earth have chosen to use our technology for.
But I swear, humanity is so much more than just chasing orgasms; we fight, build, and die for things you can’t quantify—love, pride, fear, curiosity.
You may call that primitive from where you sit, being born into a civilization that is a millennia ahead of humanity, but I call it complex. ”
For a brief moment I say nothing, letting the silence sit between us to see if she’ll continue to speak after making her point, but she doesn’t.
Impressive for a human. “Unbridled complexity without control is chaos. Everything on Earth is driven by humanity’s need for sex and greed.
This isn’t my own observation, Eve. This is a galactic observation after centuries of Imperial study. ”
“Great accomplishments can be born out of chaos,” she says, but even I hear the doubt in her voice. But it’s admirable that she still defends her species in light of everything she has seen.
“Sometimes. But rarely do highly-charged emotional endeavors, that just happen to end well, substitute for calculated planning and order. Make no mistake, humanity is not behind technologically because of lack of time.”
“But where are your emotions, Sovereign? Since I’ve been at the Celestial Spire, I’ve only seen order without any acknowledgement that your staff are alive.
And, your tactics with me are flawed if you think control will result in loyalty,” she says too quickly because her face immediately regrets it.
But I’m charmed by her observation, so I tap my IC and the Venus Lock hums softly in response, a low vibration that fills the space between us. “This device teaches order. You will learn the difference, and I hope in time, I will also have your loyalty.”