The surface of Jupiter roiled with energy, its perpetual storms raging an impossible distance away from the orbiting satellite station. The interior was as ostentatious as its interior. Venusian marble, polished organic wood, Martian sandstone. A palace in every sense of the word, though more refined in its decadence than the gaudy flaunting of House Harmonia.

The domain of Mara Orion McArthur was truly incomparable.

Servants patrolled its myriad halls, blank eyes and blissful faces showing how deeply they had succumbed to the will of Mara, and transformed into something less than human; less than object. Invisible in their banality until they were needed.

They were just The Help.

The Help worked near silently, their minds smoothed and soothed by their programming and the feeling of an ethereal hand cradling the back of their mind, firmly but not forcefully. They never knew want or confusion because they always knew exactly what they were for. What small sacrifice is one's personhood for purpose, after all?

So thought Titanium, Mara’s Head Maid, her appearance servile yet still imposing due to her extraordinary height, towering over The Help. Taller even than Lady Mara by virtue of her extreme high heels of polished black, she considered her life to be one of absolute contentment. She even got to keep her personality; the parts of it Lady Mara preferred, anyway. But that suited her. She offered her life in servitude and she had no intention of her words ringing false. 

Titanium strode confidently through the halls, a silver platter poised delicately on her fingertips bearing a single crystal glass and a bottle of Terran wine; a pinot noir, shipped across the stars for long enough that by the time it had reached Jupiter's orbit, it was perfectly aged to the taste of her Mistress. Lady Mara had no pretensions about rare or expensive wines. To her, the vivacity of a bold red had enough of an appeal on its own.

The journey to Mara's personal quarters was uneventful as Titanium barely took notice of The Help going about their business polishing floors and dusting the many alcoves and decorations of the palatial station. Demurely pushing open the door to Mara's chambers, Titanium heard a contented sigh from the adjoining bathroom. Proceeding further, Titania knocked at the door and was permitted entrance.

The bathroom was warm and humid, its imported Terran tiles pleasantly cool in colour and contrast, the Lady Mara herself laying luxuriantly in the glazed terracotta bath at its centre.

'Ah, thank you Titania,' Mara said with undenied relish as she took the wine glass in her hand.

'Was your return to your satisfaction, Mistress?' Titanium asked as she took to opening and pouring the wine for Mara.

A soft groan escaped her mouth before evolving into a stretching yawn, 'Tedious more than anything. The foremen simply wouldn't stop pestering me with questions about the new defence systems rather than consulting the manuals and experts I'd provided them with. But I was able to assure them that the next corsairs which dare to breathe in that sector will be torn asunder.'
Mara took a luxurious sip of pinot noir and settled further into her bath.
'Any news of interest in my absence?'

'Reportedly House Harmonia were developing a new form of compound explosive designed to generate vacuum ruptures in pressured environments. However, an accident during the weapons test resulted in the observing royal family perishing in the explosion, along with most of the research and development team,' Titania reported, ‘Although there were two survivors.’

'Ah. About time. Which-' Mara began before she interrupted herself with a subdued exclamation, 'One moment Titania.'

Mara reached into the water and drew her arm back, bringing with it the form of one of her maids, blue hair soaked in Mara's tight fingers and mouth agape, the doll gasping for breath as its hard-worked tongue lolled out from its mouth.

'Good girl,' Mara cooed as the doll tried desperately to draw breath back into its body, 'I had told you before there were better uses for that mouth of yours. Aren't you glad you're finally seeing things my way?'

'Y-yes Mistress,' the sodden creature reverently moaned.

'That's a good girl, Starlite,' Mara said, relinquishing her grip on the doll's hair and gently stroking the side of her face, 'Why don't you take a break and sit quietly for a few minutes? You've earned it.'

The doll nodded as it sat at Mara's side, head bowed in obedient silence.

'Now,' Mara said, turning her attention back to the head maid, 'Which of that brood of scum survived?'

'Their Princess Cadmia, and your…' Titanium stopped to correct herself ‘Her maid, Deianira.'

Mara set down her wine glass. A thoughtful look crossed her face before she discarded it, 'No matter. I can't bring myself to care about such small thorns any longer. She'll likely get herself killed in some coup from one of the other Great Houses without any need for my intervention.'

'As you say, Mistress.'

Mara still had a look of some discontent. Something was bothering her still, of that Titanium was sure. She had known her Mistress long enough to read her every emotion, no matter how carefully guarded.
Mara took another sip from her glass before speaking again, 'Why don't you join me, Titania? You can help me in showing Starlite what it is I expect of her. There is still some work to be done regarding her discipline.'

'I would be honoured, Mistress,' Titanium said as she began undressing.

Starlite, the blue-haired maid, started and was about to open her mouth to exclaim, when a finger from Mara was delicately placed on her lips, pinning them shut with the gentlest force.

'Hush, doll. I have told you to sit quietly. You will endure this without a sound, and will only speak when you are spoken to. Do you understand?'

Mara lifted her finger away from Starlite's mouth as a hesitant shudder of words escaped her; 'Y-yes Mistress.'

‘Good Doll,’ Mara purred, stroking the back of her hand across Starlite’s face as Titanium stepped into the bath.

Gently guiding her property in accordance to her whim, Mara drew one of Starlite’s legs across her own lap, instructing Titanium to do the same, leaving the subservient maid totally exposed to them. Starlite’s arms were drawn behind her as her mouth opened in surprise, a gasp threatening to escape before Titanium covered Starlite’s mouth, her other arm wrapping around Starlite’s arms to pin them.
‘Not a sound, Starlite. Do as you’re told,’ Titanium warned, ‘Or there will be consequences.’

Starlite swallowed her voice and nodded meekly as Titanium moved her hand from Starlite's mouth to cover her eyes. Mara's own fingers delicately brushed across Starlite's chest, the tips of her nails caressing the exposed and highly sensitive nipples of her doll. Starlite fought down her moans, biting her bottom lip to try and silence herself, even as Mara began pinching and pulling, a hedonistic smile of her own once again spreading across her lips.

Titanium was gently guided down by Mara's hand to Starlite's chest, where the head maid began suckling gently, ever so gently, at her subordinate's chest. Starlite bucked and shivered, held firmly in place by Titanium's arm behind her back and both her tormentors keeping her legs spread wide. Her thoughts were astew with mindless pleasure from something as small as this. She wanted to beg, to plead for release, to throw herself down and promise to do anything, to debase herself in any way  ~/ her Mistress /~ wished for her to do so and to fully embrace her own submission.

But she had not been spoken to.

Titanium once again wrapped a hand around Starlite's eyes as one of Mara's hands gripped her hair again and pulled her head back.

Mara's other hand dipped below the water.

The blending of panic and pleasure in Starlite's mind was entirely disorienting. Mara's hands gracefully slid across Starlite's thighs and tender belly, circling around but never quite coming close enough to her most sensitive parts. Not that Mara's touch would truly yield the pleasure Starlite so desperately craved.

Mara's hand fell upon Starlite’s caged sex, her skin meeting smooth and impermeable metal. The cage was so closely and integrally binding the manifestation of Starlite's desires bound in dollskin, warmed as it already was by the temperature of the bath but so tight and restrictive by her own burning desires.

She couldn't help it. A tiny moan escaped her, echoing with volume in the silence of the bath.

Mara's smile became wicked as her hand tightened into a fist, squeezing Starlite's testes until she yelped and squirmed in sensual pain.

'Oh Star, you were doing so well, poor thing,' Mara near-cackled with a devious glee, 'And here I was thinking you might have made a step in earning back your orgasm privileges.'

Starlite, made pathetic by the realisation of what she had just lost, whimpered in dismay. Mara moved her doll in front of her again and held her face in her hands.

'Now Starlite, you're going to take some deep breaths for me. That's it, good Doll.'

Once Starlite had drawn a calm and steady full breath Mara gripped her head and plunged her back underwater, wrapping her legs around Starlite's neck to keep her mouth pleasuring her mons. With a satisfied purr, Mara turned to Titanium.

'Go prepare my bed and some restraints. Perhaps I can fuck some proper obedience into her.'

'At once, Mistress.'

Mara spread her arms wide across the rim of the bath as Titanium left to follow her instruction.

It was good to finally be home.