“I’m rather disappointed in you, Lira,” Samir said in a serious tone, “This is a serious business you’ve mixed yourself up in. We’ve only just finished repairs on Immortus Station in this last week.”

Lira thrashed and tried to move, but the straightjacket she was wearing pinned her arms thoroughly in place. They were in a small room as she sat across a metal table from Samir. She kept her lips pressed tightly together even as she looked away from Samir. She didn’t want to blurt something out accidentally and give him an opening to interrogate her more.

“No need to be like that,” Samir said, “I’m here to help you, I really am. You’ve been mixed up with the wrong people and I’m partially to blame for that. I should have been more vigilant before letting Sean onto the station with the Plaguemother whispering in his ear. But it’s too late now. I’d like to help you, give you a chance to rehabilitate yourself. That Plaguebringer Nyx has already confessed to planning the whole thing, the prison break and attack. You thought you were helping your friends and I understand that. I won’t ask you to do anything to harm them. I’d rather not keep you in prison if I don’t have to. But we need to talk if that’s going to happen.”

“Aren’t you going to seal me up in one of those big stone blocks?” Lira said before she could stop herself, “Vaporize my head and leave me there forever?”

Samir winced and shook his head, “Ah, was that what you thought? No, that’s only for the worst criminals. Plaguebringers that destroyed whole planets on a whim, people that aren’t safe to have around others. I don’t think you’re anything like that. Are you?”

Lira shifted around in the straightjacket again, “No… what do you want from me anyway? After everything you’ve said to me? What you almost did?”

“What I’ve said to you?” Samir said, appearing genuinely confused at her accusation, “What do you mean?”

Something boiled over in Lira and suddenly she was shouting.

“Lars! You… How can you not even remember?! You said that he did nothing wrong, that it was my fault for not fighting back! How could you? And Ash… Ash… You were going to kill her if we didn’t leave, all without even really talking to her! I… You… She…”

“That robot was a risk to us all…”

“Shut up! Shut up, shut up, shut up! Ash is a person, a better person than you’ll ever be! You don’t get to hurt her just because she’s different…”

Lira lifted her shoulder and started rubbing her face on the jacket to clear her watery eyes. By the Shadow, how could he just sit there and be like this…

Samir paused at that and luckily didn’t speak for a while, appearing in deep thought.

“I’m sorry for my comments on Lars,” he eventually said, “I was frustrated and… Well, there’s no excuse. I should have chosen my words better. I suppose I’m out of touch with newer Immortals like yourself and your struggles. I didn’t mean to make light of it. I see you care deeply for the robot. My duty is to Immortus Station and the Council, and I can’t risk the feelings of one person for the safety and security for everyone else. Imagine what might have happened if your Ash flew into a rage and started attacking the people of this station indiscriminately? Who else might be traumatized like you’ve been?”

“She… She wouldn’t do that. You don’t know her like I do.”

“Even if you were in some perceived danger? If Lars made any more nasty comments towards you? What then? Would you be able to stop it in time?”

“Lars was the one that attacked Ash!” Lira protested, “And we were in the greater galaxy for over five hundred years and we did just fine with her alongside us. She didn’t hurt anybody like you’re saying. No one at all!”

Samir hummed to himself and tapped the table with his fingers.

“I see…”

He said thoughtfully. Lira didn’t say anything in response, feeling the rage and frustration from before slide away into a deep weariness. Ash was safe at least, but she couldn’t believe she was back here talking with Samir of all people. He was still the perfect politician, apologizing while not really feeling sorry about what he had said or done. But Ash was safe, Sean and Roger must have made it out with the Emily woman or Samir would have said something about it by now.

“I tell you what,” Samir said suddenly, “Your robot Ash, you want them protected and safe, don’t you?”

Lira hesitated and then nodded slightly.

“Then I’ll cut you a deal. You be a little bit less stubborn and accept my deal to help rehabilitate you and allow you back onto the station. In exchange, I’ll get a special exemption for your robot for the Council. A license if you will so this Ash won’t have to worry about being destroyed by the Enforcers when you end up encountering them again. And it can never come onto Immortus Station as well. There are limits of course, it can be revoked at any time. And Plaguebringers and any Immortals or mortals not affiliated with us make their own decisions and may take issue with the robot. But the galaxy will be much safer for your robot if you get this license.”

“What… what do you want in return?” Lira asked. It sounded too good to be true.

“Your cooperation,” Samir said with a slight smile, “I do really want to help you. It’s a shame everything that’s happened to you at your age. But you can start off with everything that’s happened to you since you’ve left this station. Especially your relationship with Nyx Vesper.”

Lira hesitated, “The license. When will I get it? How soon?”

“I don’t know,” Samir said flatly, “At least a few years. If you do your best to behave and cooperate to your fullest then I’m sure it will speed up the process.”

Lira hesitated one last time, her thoughts racing. What was the harm in playing along after all, when that license could nearly guarantee Ash’s safety and let them visit the more urban worlds without fearing an Enforcer catching the group and killing Ash out of spite…

“Can I get out of this thing first?” Lira eventually said before shifting in place to highlight the straightjacket she was wearing.

“Certainly.”

----------------------------------------

Lira held some things back of course. Mostly things about Ash and when they had visited Brenda’s base as a group. Or Brenda’s role in everything for that matter. Samir didn’t press too hard for details, just occasionally prompting her onwards when she stopped and struggled to figure out what she should talk about next.

Eventually Samir was satisfied with his questions, especially focusing on their meeting with Nyx and her time trapped by the Endless Flesh.

That led to all the terms and conditions of her release from this small room onto the larger station. She couldn’t use any of the workshops or even create any unauthorized technology at all even for the smallest things. She’d have to check in on Samir and give him progress reports on how she was doing regularly. Fuck, she still didn’t like him even if he was apparently was genuine in wanting to help her. Jerk still hadn’t truly apologized for trying to kill Ash…

But the worst part of the agreement was the bulky metal collar around her neck. She reached up and tugged at it.

“Do I have to?” She asked Samir as she stood at the door to the main station, “Can’t I just wear it around my… arm or something? This is so humiliating…”

“It has to be the neck,” Samir said calmly, “Has to be able to pop off your head to knock you out if you try to escape. Or if you try to tamper with it. It is what it is, and I’m sure you’ll get used to it over time. Just think of it like a bulky necklace. Paint it whatever color you like if you want to make it seem more like an intentional statement.”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Lira tugged uncomfortably at the thick metal band that had been fused into a single uninterrupted piece around her throat. She wasn’t sure about the security features but she was told in no uncertain terms by Samir that she wouldn’t be able to get it off without alerting every Security Officer on the station to the attempt.

“Fine… If it gets Ash her license then I can deal with it.”

“Excellent! I will escort you to your old rooms then,” Samir said, “After that you have free reign within the rules. Just remember, any escape attempts from the Station will void the whole deal. I’m pulling a lot of favors to pull this all off, so don’t waste this chance.”

“I understand,” Lira grumbled, “Let’s just get going.”

----------------------------------------

Lira stared at her old room after Samir left. It was the exact same as she had left it, only a little dustier than it had been. She walked in a daze into her bedroom and looked wistfully at the large bed inside. Sean was gone, free out there in the galaxy. She wondered what he was doing right now, if he was worried about her and trying to figure out to free her from this place.

She felt the sudden overwhelming urge to escape, to run to the docks and steal the closest ship. Hit the hyperdrive in the system and risk being exploded into a million pieces and reform in deep space… But she couldn’t do that anymore. This was her big chance to make sure that Ash would be safe. Let her be free to explore the populated worlds and be tolerated at least by Immortal society. Lira couldn’t ruin that. She reached up and tugged at her metal collar again. A constant reminder that she was still a prisoner. Not any freer just because her cage had golden bars…

----------------------------------------

Lira wandered the station aimlessly searching for something to do. All of her prior girl friends had refused her calls, leaving her messages unread on the holopad. One had replied and at least been apologetic in saying they couldn’t be friends anymore. Too much damage to their reputation to risk being associated with her. Lira respected that friend a lot more than the ones that had simply not replied at all.

Lira had really thought she was real friends with all of them, but it seems that when her friendship grew inconvenient they were ready to distance themselves from her without even a second thought. Everyone on the station eyed her warily like she was dangerous, their eyes always fixating directly on her metal collar as she walked by. Lira wondered what they thought she had done to earn it. She heard some whispers, but none were loud enough for her to pick up anything coherent on what they thought about it.

It seems that she was all alone again even while surrounded on all sides by people.

Eventually she reached a firing range and stood outside of it for a few seconds. She tried to think of what else she could do, but couldn’t find the motivation to search any more. Without Ash, Roger, especially Sean… What was even the point? Everything felt dull and gray as she walked inside and began practicing, firing the guns into target after target.

After a while she looked up from her targets at hearing the high pitched giggles of two women along with the voice of a familiar man.

Lira turned and spotted Nyx wearing shorts and a loose shirt open at the chest. He was wearing a metal collar the same as her, but had painted a design of orange flames over it. He looked rather relaxed as he chatted with the two women he was with, obviously flirting with the both of them at the same time. Lira inspected the two women and saw they also appeared comfortable, one hovering by each of Nyx’s arms as they walked and giving him suggestive glances as they spoke.

“Here we go, ladies!” Nyx said as they went to their firing lane, “Let me show you how we do it over in the foul Plaguebringer Den! We have to land at least ten bullseyes every time we go or they cut off our access to the holopads! Only the strong survive over there, and I can’t dare miss with a firing course this pathetically easy! It would shatter my strong Plaguebringer pride!”

Nyx spotted Lira and suddenly waved, drawing the attention of the two women he was with as with. He started walking over and the two women trailed slightly behind to follow.

“Hey, my fellow convict,” Nyx said, “Can’t believe I got out sooner than you did. They even gave us matching accessories too…”

He tugged at his collar with a grin, “Feeling the benevolent hand of the Immortal Council shoved far up your ass now? Puppet masters, that’s what I was saying from the beginning…”

“Nyx…” Lira replied flatly, “You seem to be doing well.”

“Fuck yeah I am,” Nyx agreed, “Their shit is so new and shiny here. Practically brand new. This place is great!”

He lowered his voice to a stage whisper, “The women see me as a sexy exotic bad boy too. Best of both worlds.”

He raised his voice, “Isn’t that right, ladies? Having a good time with the mysterious Nyx Vesper? Showing off my shooting skills?”

“C’mon, Nyx. Shoot the targets already,” One of the women jokingly complained, “You can’t brag so much and then leave us hanging. Save the dirty talk for the party.”

“Party?” Lira asked, “What party?”

“Oh, we should totally invite you too! You’ve got that mysterious sexy aura too, even if it's less than Nyx here,” the other woman said before digging in her pocket and pulling out a piece of paper that she handed it over.

“It’s just a little gathering where we…” Lira opened the folded piece of paper between her hands and immediately her eyes bulged out as she saw the images of naked bodies inside striking provocative poses. She immediately shut it while blushing. What the Shadow were they thinking?

“Oh, you haven’t ever been?” the woman said after noticing Lira’s reaction, “Great way to let off some steam. Nyx is going to be the center of attention when we go there after this. The both of us girls have got to get in early to get a good taste, with how popular he’ll be when we get there.”

“Hmmm. A good taste is what you’ll get, girl,” Nyx said in a husky tone back to the woman who had spoken.

“Fuck, that’s so gross,” Lira said while gagging slightly and shoving the invitation back into the hands of the woman.

“Yes, that’s kinda the whole idea,” the woman agreed brightly, “Fuck and be gross. Just think about it. No shame and all that. Just some fun.”

She shoved the piece of paper back into Lira’s hands, and glared at her when she tried to hand it back again.

“Just keep it,” the woman said, “You never know when you’ll change your mind. We’d be happy to see you there, I’m sure you’d be pretty popular too if you went…”

“No, no thanks.” Lira stammered and started backing away, “I’ve got, ah. Have fun you three. Got to… go do something. Just finishing up and all. Bye.”

“Bye, bye sweetie,” the woman replied while wiggling her eyebrows. Lira turned and fled as quickly as she could without actually running, the images in the invitation still burned into her eyes. Gaaaah, who just hands people stuff like that in the open?

Lira threw the invitation in the trash as soon as she got back to her room. She had to take a shower, she felt dirty just thinking about it…

----------------------------------------

Showering somehow had made her feel better about what had just happened, the feeling of cleanliness of her body translating to her thoughts as well. She took the towel and carefully reached up to shove it under the collar to dry off around her neck. She could only shove it a little bit under, so it took some time to dry off the whole thing to make sure that there wasn’t any water trapped under there that would grow uncomfortable.

Well, at least Nyx was having a good time. A small comfort, but still surprisingly still comforting to Lira. Despite how sleazy he was, he was at least honest and open when giving his opinion on things. He was better than Samir at least.

----------------------------------------

Lira was bored. She had spent over ten years making more statues and paintings. But she wasn’t inspired at all, and had no one to talk to in the whole station. She had even invited herself to a normal party at one point and tried to mingle, but the host had called Station Security who escorted her out. By the Shadow, that had been so humiliating…

She had to have a long drawn out conversation with Samir about that at their next progress meeting. Mostly she just told him a brief summary of what art pieces she had done before leaving. But Samir had held her for over three hours to discuss the party incident in excruciating detail that one time.

Other than that she hadn't spoken to anyone at all regularly really. How sad was that, that she almost looked forward to her short conversations with Samir by this point? The man that had tried to kill Ash?

She went to the gun range still, hoping that Nyx or one of his friends would show up and talk with her. She had tried to connect with some of them over time, but none of them seemed overly interested in her friendship once they realized she wasn’t interested in going to one of their sex parties. Nyx was really all in, looking like he was on an extended vacation whenever Lira saw him.

But if she coincidentally met one of them at the gun range, she could have a short conversation for a while and they would indulge her. It seems that it was popular for them to go there and show off their marksmanship before their parties began, so that’s where Lira would encounter them most often. They were the only people in this place that even indulged her with a little conversation rather than actively avoiding her. After their short polite conversation was finished then the person she was talking to would try to convince her to go to one of their parties, and she would firmly say no.

That was the extent of Lira’s human connection on the station. Samir, a man she hated. Nyx, who she disliked but was at least somewhat tolerable to talk to. And dozens of acquaintances that didn’t care about anything but her body and convincing her to go with them to one of their gross parties.

Oh, she wanted to escape so much. The collar around her neck felt tighter and tighter every day, feeling like it was almost choking her at times. But there was no escape, no Sean to comfort her, no Roger to joke and make her laugh. No Ash to take care of and nurture.

She couldn’t leave, not until Samir gave her the license for Ash. No matter how much the world dimmed around her and how desperate she became to talk to someone, anyone, that cared about her. She couldn’t do it, she just couldn’t.

She had to do it. She had to stay, keep playing by Samir’s rules. Keep the collar on. She had to do it for Ash. So the collar felt tighter and tighter every day and she just gritted her teeth and bore through it. It would all be worth it in the end, she was sure of it.

It had to be worth it. It had to. Or else she suffering through all of this for nothing.