Galactic Odyssey Ch. 04

I continued listing some of the pros and cons based on my past experiences, but Nora didn't really have a preference.

"Let's go to Mendez then," I said. "We don't have to walk far, there's one right here at the mall."

*

After a quick bathroom break, we walked over to the shopping mall and entered the branch office of Mendez Judicial Enforcement. Nora was understandably nervous, I basically had to shove her over the doorstep.

The lobby looked exactly like all the other Mendez agencies I had visited and probably they were the same across the quadrant. There were no other customers there, just a clerk standing behind a counter, greeting us with professional courtesy.

"Welcome to Mendez Judicial Enforcement, the award-winning, customer-friendly enforcement agency. How may I help you?"

He smiled at Nora, who was obviously the customer judging by her orange tracking collar, but she needed a few moments to compose herself before she could answer.

"I'm ... my name is Nora Vlissidis," she said, avoiding direct eye contact. "I got a message and I'm here for the ... you know, the thing. And I brought a witness."

"Of course, Miss Vlissidis. Let me do a quick scan."

The clerk scanned Nora's collar using a small hand-held device and typed something on his terminal.

"Providing sexual services without a license, there it is. That'll be one hundred credits for the corporal punishment and five hundred credits for the seal and the inhibitor. Are you paying debit or cash?"

Nora raised her eyebrows. "Six hundred credits?!"

"I'm sorry, Miss, that is a standard service fee approved by the justice department, you won't get it much cheaper elsewhere. If you cannot pay, I'm afraid the department will book you into the indentured servants program and you have to work it off at ten credits a day."

"I got it," I said, handing over some bills from the advance payment. "And as per Emaris' proxy statute, I'm going to take the whipping on her behalf."

Nora looked at me in disbelief. "You would do that for me?"

I still owed her for the kidnapping and this seemed like a good opportunity to pay her back. The whipping would be tough, no doubt about it, but having survived hundreds of lashes in my life, a dozen more wouldn't kill me.

"I'm sorry, Miss," interrupted the clerk. "The law was changed a couple of months ago. Proxying is only permitted for first-degree relatives. Do you want me to run the DNA test, free of charge, to confirm?"

"Are you sure the test is necessary? She's my sister, maybe I can prove it to you in some ... other way," I said, licking my lips seductively, but my decidedly unsexy outfit didn't do me any favors.

"It is necessary," the clerk said firmly. "I'm very sorry, Miss. No proxying without proof on file."

Slightly insulted that my female charms had been rejected, I pulled out the small bundle of cash that we had left, but Nora put her hand on my arm.

"It's fine, thank you for trying. I got myself into this mess, now I have to deal with it."

"Do you need to use our bathroom facilities, Ms. Vlissidis?" asked the clerk. "You may lose control over your bodily functions as a side effect of the punishment. We do not charge cleanup fees, but most customers prefer to take care of business beforehand."

"No, thank you," she answered. Following my advice, she had already used the bathroom at the restaurant.

"In this case, please proceed to changing room four and disrobe completely. Place all your clothes in the provided lockbox, including shoes and jewelry. Then attach yourself to the transport system. As per our policy, we do not press charges for resisting, but please be advised that Mendez staff is authorized to apply restraints and inflict additional pain as necessary to ensure the lawful execution of your sentence. Do not hesitate to address our attendants with any questions you might have."

"Excuse me. What do I have to do?" I asked.

This whole situation was new to me as well - I had been on the receiving end of the process many times, but had never played the role of the witness.

"Just follow your friend. You have full access to fulfill your role as mandated by law, but keep in mind that interfering or obstruction is a criminal offense that carries a minimum of one hundred whip lashes."

The clerk gave Nora a reassuring smile. "Unless there are any more questions, I'd like to thank you for choosing Mendez Judicial Enforcement and best of luck to you."

*

Inside the small changing room, Nora stripped off her clothes and placed them into a fingerprint-secured locker. When she was completely naked, I took the steel cable that was attached to an overhead rail and connected it to the ring at the front of her collar. The padlock closed and from then on, there was no going back.

"You're not going to ditch me now, are you?" she asked. "We're partners, right?"

I must admit that the thought had crossed my mind. By the time she was released, I could be off the station and in hyperspace, on the way to make the delivery. But tempting as it was, I couldn't leave her here - George would catch her and I didn't want that on my conscience.

"I think I'll stick around. As a travel companion you're not too bad, you're the first one I didn't have to fuck."

She smiled and gave me a big hug. Maybe there was hope for me yet.

"Hey, do you think these count as jewelry?" she asked, cupping her boobs. She was wearing large-gauge nipple rings, about five centimeters in diameter, and tight steel bands around the base of her massive breasts, which made them bulge outwards..

"I don't think it's gonna be a problem. But let's ask someone from the staff."

*

The rail activated and pulled Nora forward by her leash, through the curtain of the changing room. We walked past a few other rooms and stopped inside a treatment room where a medical technician in a white lab coat was already waiting.

"Hello, Ms. Vlissidis. I'm Rick, your assigned med tech," he said, shaking both our hands. "I will perform the procedure."

"Err, excuse me, sir. I cannot take these off," Nora said, pointing at her breasts. "This is all welded on and there is a steel bar running through my breasts."

"Don't worry, Miss. They won't interfere with the punishment, we can leave them in place. I'll make a note in your file that I cleared you."

"Actually, I would very much like to have them removed, if that's possible," she said.

"I'm afraid that's not a service we provide at this point," he said with an apologetic smile. "We simply don't have the tools on site to cut through material like this. But there is a very good plastic surgery clinic on deck nine that may be able to help you out."

With an inviting gesture, he pointed at a sturdy OB/GYN examination chair that was equipped with numerous leather straps in strategic places.

"If you would please take a seat on the chair. Don't worry, we won't use the restraints as long as you cooperate."

Trembling, Nora took a seat on the chair, legs spread wide with her genitals exposed, while Rick, the technician, picked up a syringe from a nearby tray.

"The purpose of your sentence is making sure that you're prevented from having sexual intercourse for the next three months," he explained. "To achieve that, I'm going to inject you with our inhibitor nanites. Careful, it's going to sting a little."

Using the syringe, he injected a clear fluid into her arm.

"When the nanites are in position, they are going to block all pleasurable sensations from your genital area, most notably from your clitoris, and they are closely integrated with the seal."

Rick inspected the area between her legs with a small flashlight.

"Do you shave or did you have permanent depilation?" he asked.

"I, ... err, it's permanent."

"Very well, then we can continue with the sealing process right away. I'm going to install the cover, which will fuse itself to your skin to prevent vaginal and anal penetration."

He took an anatomically shaped white mass from the tray that reminded me of a piece of duct tape.

"There is a large-enough opening in front for bodily fluids to pass and the back will open daily for one minute at 7am and 7pm Emaris standard time, so plan accordingly. Do not interfere with the technology and especially don't try to block the anal opening. This is very robust correctional bio tech, you will receive automated shocks for non-compliance and you could cause yourself serious injury if you try to remove it."

He placed the cover between her legs and I could see an inscription in a small black font that identified the seal as property of the Emaris Department of Corrections.

"Brace yourself, you'll feel a bit of heat."

Nora grimaced while the cover installed itself with the help of the nanites already present in her system. The seal changed its color to match the surrounding skin and a small hole appeared, apparently the drain for fluids.

"All done," said the technician. "You may get up."

I helped Nora out of the chair and watched as she moved her fingers across her smooth pubic area.

"How does it feel?" I asked.

She tapped her knuckles against the soft cover. "Absolutely weird. I don't feel anything."

I grinned. "It's kinda ironic. They bust you for cocksucking and now they've closed your other holes."

Nora shot me an angry glare. "That's not funny."

*

With the seal installed, the next item on the agenda was the whipping. With just twelve lashes, I figured it would be a relatively quick, but still very painful affair.

"Is this your first time?" asked the med technician.

"Yes, it is."

"According to your sentencing spec, the instrument they selected for you is a regulation bio-electric whip. There's going to be reddening of your skin, but no welts and certainly no permanent damage. The pain is intense, unfortunately, and the nanites will deploy a stimulant to make sure you don't pass out. But the lashes are at a fifteen-second interval, so it'll be over in three minutes."

Nora gulped and grabbed my hand.

"Alright, this is where I have to leave you," said the technician. "The execution of your sentence shall begin shortly. Good luck to you, Ms. Vlissidis."

We waited in silence for a few minutes until the overhead rail activated one more time.

*

The whipping chamber was large, brightly lit, and Nora's leash led us right to the center of it. We walked past the whipping bot and into a yellow circle painted on the floor, six or seven meters across.

The robot was a standard unit, used by Mendez branches all over the sector - a tall, cylindrical machine mounted on an antigrav platform that sent shivers down my spine every time I saw it. Using the antigrav drive and the whip attached to its single arm, it was able to hit every spot on a delinquent's body with absolute accuracy. It would do its job with cold, calculated precision, never showing mercy to anyone, but also without overstepping the rules or displaying the typical cruelty of humans performing the task.

Two female staff members in blue scrubs secured Nora's wrists and ankles with padded cuffs, which were attached to cables mounted in the floor and ceiling. At the press of a button, the cables retracted, leaving her standing there, spread eagled at the center of the room.

"Gods, I'm so scared," she confessed when I kissed her on the forehead for good luck.

"Just a couple of minutes and it'll be over," I said, trying to reassure her, but I knew she had every reason to be afraid. "Don't try to be a hero, just let it happen."

*

With Nora secured and ready for her punishment, we retreated from the yellow circle, outside the bot's area of operation.

"Activating punishment sequence," announced one of the attendants and pressed a button on her portable terminal to set the bot in motion.

"Twelve lashes. Best of luck to you, Miss."

The whip landed between her shoulder blades with a satisfying crack, forcing a startled yelp from Nora. Using all her strength, she pulled at the steel cables and tried to take deep breaths.

While the first hit is terrible, it is usually the second that makes you realize how much this is going to hurt. Even though a fifteen second break sounds like a long time, it is not enough for the body to recover, so the pain builds up with every lash. Tied up and helpless, you are unable to stop the excruciating pain and you know that all resolutions of bravery won't last for long.

More lashes hit her back, making her cry out and dance in her bonds, trying to evade the impact of the whip. But of course, the robot always found its target, no matter how much she twisted and turned.

By the fifth lash, she was begging for a break and by the seventh, the limit of what she was able to endure had been reached.

"Please, have mercy, please," she begged. "I'll do anything, but please stop."

While Nora was hyperventilating, I clenched my fists and nervously paced up and down, counting the strokes, flinching with every new lash. I knew the attendants couldn't stop the program - if they did without a sound medical reason, they would most likely be charged with obstruction of justice and for Nora the entire ordeal would start again at zero.

"Come on, girl, you can do it," I shouted. "I'll be over soon, just a few more to go!"

By the tenth lash, Nora was mad with pain. She was babbling incoherently and I had to take my eyes off for the rest of her punishment.

I was surprised by my own reaction - maybe I wasn't as jaded as I thought. Even though I had been subjected to it myself, I had never seen anyone else I cared about endure this kind of judicial whipping and it was one of the most heartbreaking things I ever watched in my life. I had to wipe the tears from my eyes and it took everything I had to stay outside the circle.

My rational self knew that I couldn't help Nora, but if one of the attendants hadn't grabbed my arm and held me back, I would have thrown myself in front of the bot to block the lashes.

*

When the final stroke hit her back, Nora slumped in her bonds, trembling and crying uncontrollably. I was so glad it had only been a dozen lashes - neither of us could have handled more than this.

I walked over to her and stroked her hair out of her face.

"You made it, girl! We can go home."

The two attendants approached, one with a white plastic chair and the other with a small bottle of water. They quickly examined her back and then disengaged the bonds and gently helped her sit in the chair.

"Please have some water, Miss," said one of the attendants and Nora took a sip out of the bottle, spilling most of it on the floor. She was covered in cold sweat and shaking like a leaf.

"Can we stay here for a few minutes?" I asked. "I don't think she can walk."

"Of course, Ma'am. Our next customer is still in prep, you'll have a few minutes."

*

After about ten minutes one of the attendants came by.

"I'm very sorry, Miss, but we need the room. Can you walk?"

Nora nodded weakly and I helped her up while the staff activated the transport system.

We were taken back to the same changing room with Nora's clothes in the locker. Next to the table, there was a towel, wet wipes, and a small piece of chocolate with the Mendez company logo.

Another staff member in scrubs appeared in the changing room and unlocked the bright orange collar from Nora's neck.

"This is it, Ms. Vlissidis, you're free to go. The seal and the nanites will disengage automatically when your sentence is up. Please consider completing our feedback form and thank you for choosing Mendez Judicial Enforcement today. Should you require our services again in the future, be advised that we have a five percent discount for returning customers."

Nora was still a bit shaky, but I knew that the effect was mostly psychological at this point. I opened the locker and helped her get dressed.

"That was really hard to watch," I said. "I hope you learned your lesson. Next time leave crime to us professionals."

"Absolutely. If there's whoring to be done in the future, I'll leave it to you."

I laughed. "That's what I wanted to hear. Now eat your chocolate and then let's move. We need supplies, clothes that fit, and we've got product to deliver."