-Bleak Skies Correctional Facility-

The ancient shuttle finally came to a halt, the shaking and creaking of its battered hull ceasing as the landing gear loudly clanged onto the floor of the docking bay. The shuttle was an ugly old thing, certainly not an imperial model which wasn’t surprising considering the three figures who clambered out of the voidborn coffin.

Sera got out first, not bothering to get out of her her grimy grey void skin and just desperate to be out of the shuttle. She had a confident look on her face as she scanned the docking bay, taking off her helmet and letting her fiery red hair spill out. The docking bay was a large and ugly room, figures in generic faceless void suits moving around like ants as they went about their tasks. There were only a few other ships in the bay with most of them being expensive and official looking things, all sharp edges and sleek black metal as was the current imperial fashion.

The next to come out of the shuttle was a mountain of a woman, a low growl emanating from her fanged snarling jaws as she stalked protectively behind Sera, dragging the prisoner by a chain as she did so. This wolf like woman was Lyka-2, a demihuman that Sera had rescued from a slave ship a few years back. Sera was still somewhat scared of the woman despite all they had been through together and Lyka’s protectiveness of her. The prisoner was dressed in a dirty uniform, her hands tied behind her back with plastic cable and a tight-fitting collar on her neck. She wasn’t struggling anymore, not since Lyka had almost strangled her into unconsciousness during the shuttle ride. The prisoner was called Mar, she had been a mercenary working against the Empire until Sera and Lyka had found her. Now she was a very nice payday.

A woman in an imperial uniform, flanked by two large combat droids, approached the three women. She carried in one hand a data pad and in the other a stun baton. Sera watched her approach with the nagging feeling in the back of her head that this was a bad idea. She normally just dropped of her bounties at whatever the first enforcer compound found but she had been told to drop this one of at the Bleak Skies Correctional Facility, a deep space prison that the empire sent its worst scumbags to. Apparently, the Mother-Warden wanted to thank her, and discuss future business.

“Ah, the bounty hunters. The Mother-Warden said you would be arriving today.”

The woman’s voice was almost robotic, cold and matter of fact was an almost universal trait among Imperial officers, but this woman seemed to embody that more then any officer Sera had ever had the misfortune of interacting with.

“Follow me. Leave the prisoner with the droids.”

Sera and Lyka followed, the latter handing the chain to one of the droids as she passed. They passed through a series of checkpoints before they entered the complex proper. The entire prison had been built into a series of asteroids and this part of the facility had used that to its own thematic advantage. The stone had been craved into cramped and natural looking corridors that made way into a hallway that reminded Sera of the miserable temples that were everywhere on imperial worlds.

The two bounty hunters were brought into a waiting room where the officer left them. Sera sat herself down on an uncomfortable bench while Lyka paced up and down, gritting her teeth together and scratching at her wild mane of grey hair. After around ten minutes the door opened again, and an imperial priestess entered the room. She was a giant at around nine feet tall, as most of those of noble blood were, and was dressed in the long flowing grey robes of the order of redemption, a fringe sect of the imperial faith that Sera only knew about from rumours and gossip. Her face was hidden behind a metal featureless mask but despite her eyes being hidden behind the cold metal Sera was certain that she was being stared at.

“My deepest apologies for the wait, I had to oversee the beginning of the evening mass. I am Mother-Warden Voss Please, follow me. We can talk in my chambers.”

The priestess’ voice was melodic, beautiful and slow. Every word seeping into Sera mind and making her desperate to hear the next. The Mother-Warden led Sera and Lyka into her chambers, an opulent room with a ceiling covered in depictions of saints and their servants in the throws of their torments and the pleasures that had followed. The priestess sat down behind a large wooden desk. Sera took a seat that the Priestess gestured to, but Lyka stayed standing, rubbing at her temples and looking uncomfortable in all the lavish wealth of the room.

“So, Captain Sera Deo, and her Demi-human companion, you have been quite the aid to the empire. I believe this is the tier five bounty you have claimed in the past two years. That is quite the achievement, something that certainly has caught the attention of many. Me included of course.”

Sera smiled, pride flaring in her. Five years ago, she had been nothing, a military drop out with a bad attitude and no future. She’d crawled through the muck, dealt with the filthiest scum the empire had to offer and been knocked on her ass more times than she could remember. She had kept going though and now the empire had invited her to ‘discuss future business.’ The compliment, the way the Mother-Warden had said it, clung to her. She felt happy, felt like this woman knew everything she had been through, just from a few words she felt giddy.

“Well, I can be quite impressive when I want to be, and the pay gives me the incentive to give it one hundred percent. You said in your message that you wanted to discuss something with us.”

The priestess nodded slowly.
“Yes, you have become quite the popular person around the noble circles after tales of your adventures were serialized in an odd little magazine popular among those in power and they have decided that they absolutely must have your services in their employ. That is reason number one, reason number two is to do with your Demi-human companion.”

Sera nodded along, still feeling an overwhelming sensation of euphoria from the Mother-Warden compliment. She was extremely impressive, so it made sense she was being talked about, and of course people would want to look upon her. Her body felt hot, so hot. The image of herself being worshiped by this towering priestess flashed across her vision, the long fingers of the Mother-Warden gently running along Sera’s naked body and the warmth brought from her words consuming Sera completely. The priestess spoke again, Sera’s thoughts halting as the beautiful words started again.

“You see, your companion had been stolen from an imperial noble. Smuggled from their palace and sold to slavers, her mind re-wired and her training reduced to nothing. So, I thank you for returning her so she can be retrained. We can discuss compensation for you later.”

Sera smiled and made an attempt to bow before realising she was sitting down. She usually wasn’t this forgetful, but she was just so focused on the words that she was struggling with anything else. She felt the euphoria start to fade as the Mother-Warden started talking about Lyka and with that felt a deep jealousy enter her.

“No problem, I… Can we keep talking about me?”

“Oh of course we can darling, after all you are the woman of the hour aren’t you. After all you came all this way to hear about your future didn’t you. You have been such a good girl recently, cleaning the empires filth and doing it with such flare.”

Sera heard a thud as Lyka collapsed to the floor but wasn’t able to turn her eyes away from the Priestess, or to think about anything but the warm joy that filled her from the Mother-Warden’s kind words. Her thighs felt wet, the warmth of Voss’ words leaking from her in a warm and sticky form. She was transfixed by Voss’, her eyes fixed onto the metal mask as her mind imagined a hundred different images of what was underneath.

“But… you haven’t been perfect have you. You still stink of the streets, of the common stock. A grime stain like you being held in such esteem is beautiful, novel but unholy. This the church was willing to ignore, after all the empire spans stars so what is one little sinner. But then you attacked a noble, while you were seeking one of your little targets. That can’t be forgiven, it goes against the laws written by the first saints and thus you could not be allowed to remain a small little sinner.”

At this point Mother-Warden Voss stood and grabbed Sera by the throat. The priestess lifted the red-haired bounty hunter with such ease that Sera might as well have been made of feathers. Sera’s head cleared somewhat, and her body tried to struggle against the inhuman grip of her attacker.

“And so, we have a problem with an obvious solution. A street smile bounty hunter whom the overindulgent clowns in charge of our beloved holy empire both lust after and long to possess who must also be taught her place and punished.”

Sera struggled more, the effect of the Mother-Wardens words assaulting her mind as she tried to resist. She struggled, desperately trying to get out of the priestess’ grasp so she could try to get her head in order and fight back. It was no use; the priestess’ grip was vicelike and the weak kicks she could manage to throw at her attacker did nothing. With a single motion the Mother-Warden ripped the void skin from Sera and then slammed her against a wall. Sera cried out; the wind taken out of her by the slam.

“Cease your struggling”
Sera stopped struggling, just felt the urge completely leave her and so she was just held against the wall, still as statue and with wide eyes watching Voss slowly begin caressing her. Those words hadn’t been like the others. Voss’ previous words had been a gentle caress, but that order had been like the weight of the ocean pushed against her mind. Voss’ hands roamed Sera’s body, exploring it with a terrible gentleness. The warmth she had felt from Voss’ words now took on a cruel sense, her visions of her body being caressed becoming visions of her being groped and molested.

“Such a fine body, why on earth did you think you were put in the universe to be a bounty hunter when you were clearly meant something much more pleasing”

Voss’ fingers stroked against Sera’s cunt, causing the bounty hunter to yelp out as a burst of sensation flooded through her. Sera realized with horror that she couldn’t control her legs as they writhed from Voss’ gentle touch. Voss’ dropped her to the ground, turning her back on Sera and snapping her fingers. Five guards entered the room.

“These two have joined us here at Bleak Skies, please prepare them and find them a cell.”

Sera felt the guards roughly grab her, felt them begin to drag her out of the room, but her eyes were fixed on the Mother-Warden. In that moment, as her naked body was dragged away towards a certainly cruel future, she was certain that Mother-Warden Voss’ was smiling at her underneath her mask.