“A firing range?”
“You’ve had training,” Winter said. “Top marks too, I believe.”
“I’m a better shot with a Frame,” Epoc said, “but yes, I know my way around small arms.” Epoc looked around. On the walls were several boards, each one covered in weapons. Why was this here? Was this all for Winter to train with? How often did Antimony go into the field? For a CEO to be a combatant was unheard of, so why would she need training? Why was this here?
“Pick one,” Winter said. “Go ahead. Something you’re good with. Doesn’t have to be flashy or fancy.” Epoc blinked for a second, then looked around. Slowly, her arousal was going away. Maybe it was the cold space, or Winter’s casual demeanor, but Epoc was, strangely, starting to relax a little. Well, that wasn’t exactly true, she was wearing an adjustable cock ring and a vibrating buttplug, ‘relaxing’ wasn’t exactly the operant word here, but the cloud of sex was starting to dissipate.
She walked over to a wall and picked a handgun, the standard pilot training pistol, and a foldable bullpup rifle she had randomly chosen back in the academy for training one time and had taken a liking to. Epoc wasn’t going to pick weapons she was
bad
with. Despite everything, she still wanted to impress her Handler.
Carefully, she put down both weapons on the table. Winter looked for a second, then retrieved two boxes of the appropriate ammo. “The HB-210 is a classic — we actually have a running contract with the Helmaria Brothers Company — but I’m curious why you picked the foldable Remming.” She nodded at the firing range. She’d already set it up, stationary and moving targets.
Epoc took all of it to the booth and reloaded the 210, then looked at Winter. Another nod. She took the safety off and took up a firing stance. She took a deep breath.
“Kill,” Winter said. Epoc fired in four round bursts, aiming each shot so the first bullet of each hit in the sternum and the fourth in the forehead of the targets. Five bursts, and the magazine was empty. She put the gun down and… “Good girl,” Winter said. She pressed the buzzer twice, holding down on the second vibration for several seconds. Epoc had to steady herself on the table.
“What—“
“Kill,” Winter said again, pressing the buzzer twice, very quickly. Like this, there was barely enough time to register it as pleasure. Like it was just the signal. An encouragement. In a flash, Epoc reloaded and aimed the gun again. “Individual rounds.”
“But that—“
“Don’t argue with me, Epoc, or we’re done here.”
Epoc frowned. Hadn’t she
wanted
to be done here? But she was doing a good job now, it wouldn’t make sense to
stop.
She switched firing modes. Fine, then. She counted every shot fired. Rather, she counted every shot not yet fired. Counted down, and made sure every bullet hit its mark. Headshots and center-of-mass only. She fired the last shot and put the gun down, then looked expectantly at Winter.
Her Handler smiled. “Good girl,” she said again, then pressed the buzzer twice, sending shockwaves through Epoc’s body. She moaned, then laughed. Winter cocked her head in curiosity. “Why are you laughing?” she asked.
“Because,” Epoc said, “this is working for me, and if you told me a few weeks ago this is what I’d be doing I would have laughed at you.”
“And now?” Winter asked. Epoc glanced at the remote. “Ah. Bark.” She pressed the button.
Epoc barked eagerly and got a heavier button press as her reward.
“I see. You’re learning quickly, Hound. I’m proud of you.” She nodded at the firing range. “Let’s see what you can do with that Remming. Mix single shot, burst and auto fire for me. I want to see what you can do.”
With a grin and another bark stuck in her throat, she turned back to the range, acutely aware of the fact that she was leaking on the floor. She was a little beyond caring. Quickly reloading, she pressed the butt of the weapon against her shoulder. The Remming was a black sheep in a lot of military engagements because it didn’t have the penetrative power of a regular assault rifle, but to Epoc it more than made up for that in accuracy and mobility. The deviation per shot was next to nothing, and combined with a high rate of fire, landing everything in the ten rings even on full auto.
She did her best not to rush through it, to avoid making mistakes, but it was difficult. The anticipation was killing her. When the last bullet fired and the last casing landed in the receptacle to her right, she put the gun down and quickly turned to her Handler.
“Epoc,” Winter said. “Do you want your treat?”
It took her a second to realize what she was being asked, but as soon as she did, she nodded.
“Kneel,” Winter said, then clicked three times. The vibrator inside of Epoc sent shocks forward, and she moaned a little. Faster than she should have, She dropped down. She didn’t care that she was going to feel this in the morning. “Good
girl,”
Winter said. “Treat?”
Epoc nodded.
“Beg,” Winter said, and pressed once. The intensity of the vibration made Epoc shudder. She barked. She barked loudly and eagerly. “Good girl.” She pressed the button once, then twice, then something clicked and she put the remote down on the table. The vibrations didn’t stop. Winter knelt down in front of her, her knees between Epoc’s, and she took the Hound’s face in her hands, not caring about Epoc’s look of desperation and confusion. “Do you want to come, Epoc?”
Epoc nodded. “Please?” she said.
Winter reached down and very gently ran her fingers over Epoc’s testicles, then pressed them down on her perineum. Epoc groaned, but the Handler’s hand moved further, pushing the plug just a little deeper. The orgasm played in her lower stomach but was being stopped at the last second.
Epoc groaned. Her hips moved on their own accord, thrusting her forward. She left a smear of precum on the CEO’s immaculate, thousand-dollar suit. She whimpered an apology and couldn’t even make herself stop.
Winter smiled. “Are you a good girl?” She grasped Epoc’s cock in one hand, and picked up the remote with the other. It was all Epoc could do to nod. “Do you want to come?”
Another nod.
“Do you want to come for me?”
Nod.
“Bark.” She pressed the button. The vibrations got more intense for a second. Epoc barked as she stumbled forward. Her Handler caught her, resting her Hound’s head on her shoulder. “Good,” she said. “Good dog. Good puppy.”
Epoc heard a click. Something that had been restraining her was gone. She felt Winter’s hand gently stroke the tip of her cock, and heard the press of another button. The vibrations dropped and then came back, intensifying, oscillating.
“Good girl,” Winter said again. “Come for me, Epoc. Come in my hand. Be a good girl.”
It was too much. Epoc cried in release, whimpering, howling and mewling softly. Her hips shocked and Winter was helping her along, playing with the vibrations so that every thrust and spasm was more intense. When she was done, Epoc slumped back. She was done. Empty.
Winter looked at her, holding up her arm. Her hand was covered in cum, dripping in long strands to the floor and on her expensive pants. Epoc looked at and moved forward. She was a dog. She should clean up her mess. She opened her mouth, ready to serve Winter in a way she would have never thought to do, but was stopped when her Handler moved.
Antimony Winter looked her deep in the eyes as she brought her hand to her own mouth, and licked it. Epoc didn’t understand. Why was her Handler doing, well,
that
? Why was she licking her own hand clean, almost like it was the most pleasant thing in the whole world, pushing her tongue between her fingers and sucking them clean. She noticed Epoc’s confusion and smiled, cum on her lips.
“Now there’s a part of you inside of me.” It was all she said by way of explanation, then stood up.
She guided Epoc back to the office. Removed the plug. Helped her get dressed. The ring stayed on, though. It had softened, and was barely noticeable anymore. That alleviated a small worry she’d had, at least. Having a blood clot in her dick wasn’t on her bucket list. “What, uh, do I do now?”
“Now?” her Handler said. “Whatever you like. We have an assignment tonight but I’m not putting you on it. You
just
got back from a sortie. I’ll hire some contractor for it.”
Already halfway to the door, Epoc stopped and looked at Winter. “What’s the assignment?”
“When Levi dispatched the two creatures outside Villafranco, there was a blip on the radar. We thought it was a glitch but Operations think the Hexapod had offspring that got away. It’s a deepwater bug hunt. We’d send Scylla but she took a hit to her left leg. It’s fine, we’ll find someone else. There’s always contractors out there who can use the money.”
“No,” Epoc said.
“No?”
“No. I need to take Nexus Alpha out some time anyway. I can’t keep her in dry dock forever. Besides, I’ll never be able to tell Diana what I need for her to be perfect if I don’t actually pilot her. I’ll be there for the briefing. Besides, it’ll save you money.”
Winter tapped her fingers on the table. “I’d rather you didn’t…”
“Is that an order, Handler?”
There was a slow, deep sigh. “No. It isn’t. It would be a significant cost.” She closed her eyes, rubbed the bridge of her nose, then nodded. “Fine. Briefing is at 0200 hours, wheels up 2:30, so take it easy today, and get some rest early.”
“Why so early?”
“Actionable intel others don’t have. Every corp with a few Frames or money to swing around is going to send something out to kill that thing. Salvage alone is worth at least a billion in Credits, not to mention the research potential. The thing is, we have an idea of where it is, thanks to Levi, and we have the older one’s carcass, which gives us more to work with. That said, we don’t want too many other people in our search grid and whenever we make a move, everyone is going to be converging on our position, so we’re going under cover of night to draw as little attention as possible.”
“Sounds good,” Epoc said. “Thank you for telling me.”
“Usually the answer is ‘because I’m fucking telling you so,’ but you needed to know.” Winter shrugged, then closed her eyes, taking a breath. Was she mustering her courage? “Epoc Mako?”
“Yes, Handler?”
“Are you, are you okay?”
“I suppose I am, Handler.” Epoc bit back a ‘why’. She got the feeling Antimony wasn’t going to find that nearly as funny as she would. “I’m a little tired.”
“Are…
we
okay?”
“I’m not sure how to answer that, Handler,” Epoc said. “I’m your Hound. You’re teaching me how to be a better pilot. How to better serve you. I’m not your friend and I’m not your colleague. You own me, every part of me, for the next twenty years. That might as well be my life.” She tried to figure out what it was that her Handler was steering at. “I trust you with that, if that answers your question.”
“I… thank you, Hound,” Winter said. “That’ll be all.”
Epoc nodded, and walked out of the door.