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Selia Hargrove, from the socially advanced elven homeworld of Tillantell, waited her fate in unyielding, brass bonds. Clamped down to a heavy industrial lasing table, she bit her lip and fretted as her employer, the fantastic and exotic serpent-woman Esmeralda of Vildaar Hall, owner of the fast star-ship Maceraci spoke on the evening's task. Esmeralda was tall, slim, and always possessing of a mysterious and slightly sinister air as was the nature of people of her world. These Hydrans had developed snake-like features, and the several that were obvious to the casual observer could make them unsettling to even the heartiest adventurer.

"This is the right way," Esme said, tapping Selia's bare left foot. "She's deft enough at escape that she always avoids capture. Nobody will be able to find the course to the Eyes of Zen-Ra if we store it here."

Twitching with the tapping, Selia blinked her gold eyes up at the two of them, wondering how the process would go.

The captain of Esmeralda's star-ship, Kellar Frex, seemed hesitant. A trim man of no more than thirty-five, Frex could command with a look from his clear blue eyes alone but to the good fortune of all involved, his voice was equal in quality. Looking to the young elf's worried face he sighed, sharing her apprehension. He'd grown very fond of her though never speaking his affections for fear that he'd step in the way of his employer's designs on young Selia Hargrove.

"But will it injure Selia?" he asked, and was immediately answered by the on-board machinist.

"Of course not!" the heavyset master laser crowed. "Your precious little beauty won't be permanently hurt!" He snapped the heavy suspenders of his work pants and grinned then added cautiously, "Sir."

"You may think of me as a simple fighting man, Master Toron, but my compassion for my crew is what sets me apart from other brigands you may have served with," Frex informed the worker. Turning once more to the owner of the vessel he nodded in deference. "The map is yours madam, and Selia is by-the-end your personal employee, but she also serves as my apprentice at the helm. Please do keep this fact in mind."

"Of course, Captain Frex," Esme said. "Master Toron, if you will?"

The words set the perilous task in motion, and Selia watched in terror as Toron, the finest professor of his trade that Esmeralda was able to hire, took the ticker given to him and fed it into the laser-tool's control deck. Pulling the visor down over his eyes, he took the operator's levers in his hands and began to deftly command the machine. Keeping the machine's power high enough to mark the beautiful young elf's skin but not enough to injure or kill her, he was fair Selia's only hope of coming through this dangerous and agonizing process alive.

Lovely Esmeralda held a clenched fist to her lips, not relishing having to put poor young Selia through such torture, but she had learned resolve and strength where hard decisions must be made. Beside her Frex, ever a man of duty and honor, held the bound hand of the helpless elf firmly, giving his strength of will to help her see through the horrible task! As each turn of the hot beam lased her smooth soles she screamed and fought, shaking her head which made her strawberry-pink hair fly and flutter in the hot, wet air of Maceraci's workbay.
The image of a distant world was etched, and an unfamiliar constellation visible only from heavens yet-unseen by civilized persons began to glow from her lovely feet. The very beam that left such wonderful images was wracking Selia's nerve-endings with pain, and the fair young girl's normally cool, sweet voice broke into ragged howls of agony and fear with every touch of the lasing-beam. She gripped her beloved captain's firm hand and held on for all that life was worth!

"By the gods of the stars!" Selia shouted as she had the chance. "I'm on fire!"

Art © 2015 La Violetta
Story by

Description

Selia Hargrove, from the socially advanced elven homeworld of Tillantell, waited her fate in unyielding, brass bonds. Clamped down to a heavy industrial lasing table, she bit her lip and fretted as her employer, the fantastic and exotic serpent-woman Esmeralda of Vildaar Hall, owner of the fast star-ship Maceraci spoke on the evening's task. Esmeralda was tall, slim, and always possessing of a mysterious and slightly sinister air as was the nature of people of her world. These Hydrans had developed snake-like features, and the several that were obvious to the casual observer could make them unsettling to even the heartiest adventurer.

"This is the right way," Esme said, tapping Selia's bare left foot. "She's deft enough at escape that she always avoids capture. Nobody will be able to find the course to the Eyes of Zen-Ra if we store it here."

Twitching with the tapping, Selia blinked her gold eyes up at the two of them, wondering how the process would go.

The captain of Esmeralda's star-ship, Kellar Frex, seemed hesitant. A trim man of no more than thirty-five, Frex could command with a look from his clear blue eyes alone but to the good fortune of all involved, his voice was equal in quality. Looking to the young elf's worried face he sighed, sharing her apprehension. He'd grown very fond of her though never speaking his affections for fear that he'd step in the way of his employer's designs on young Selia Hargrove.

"But will it injure Selia?" he asked, and was immediately answered by the on-board machinist.

"Of course not!" the heavyset master laser crowed. "Your precious little beauty won't be permanently hurt!" He snapped the heavy suspenders of his work pants and grinned then added cautiously, "Sir."

"You may think of me as a simple fighting man, Master Toron, but my compassion for my crew is what sets me apart from other brigands you may have served with," Frex informed the worker. Turning once more to the owner of the vessel he nodded in deference. "The map is yours madam, and Selia is by-the-end your personal employee, but she also serves as my apprentice at the helm. Please do keep this fact in mind."

"Of course, Captain Frex," Esme said. "Master Toron, if you will?"

The words set the perilous task in motion, and Selia watched in terror as Toron, the finest professor of his trade that Esmeralda was able to hire, took the ticker given to him and fed it into the laser-tool's control deck. Pulling the visor down over his eyes, he took the operator's levers in his hands and began to deftly command the machine. Keeping the machine's power high enough to mark the beautiful young elf's skin but not enough to injure or kill her, he was fair Selia's only hope of coming through this dangerous and agonizing process alive.

Lovely Esmeralda held a clenched fist to her lips, not relishing having to put poor young Selia through such torture, but she had learned resolve and strength where hard decisions must be made. Beside her Frex, ever a man of duty and honor, held the bound hand of the helpless elf firmly, giving his strength of will to help her see through the horrible task! As each turn of the hot beam lased her smooth soles she screamed and fought, shaking her head which made her strawberry-pink hair fly and flutter in the hot, wet air of Maceraci's workbay.
The image of a distant world was etched, and an unfamiliar constellation visible only from heavens yet-unseen by civilized persons began to glow from her lovely feet. The very beam that left such wonderful images was wracking Selia's nerve-endings with pain, and the fair young girl's normally cool, sweet voice broke into ragged howls of agony and fear with every touch of the lasing-beam. She gripped her beloved captain's firm hand and held on for all that life was worth!

"By the gods of the stars!" Selia shouted as she had the chance. "I'm on fire!"

Art © 2015 La Violetta
Story by