Drone Metastasis
Chapter Six
Consciousness returned slowly, accompanied by a soothing display playing over her eyes. Puffy, white clouds floated in an infinite blue sky.
There was a hissing in her ears that calmed her, making her feel as if she was floating. She lazily watched the heavily forested landscape as it drifted past.
Her legs jolted as the chair she was strapped to rose from the bottom of the tank she had been resting in. A gurgling and swishing noise from above signaled that her restful sojourn was almost over.
She shuddered as her body lifted out of the liquid, her skin protesting as it was exposed to cooler air. She gave a low moan around the gag plugging her mouth, annoyed that she had been removed from her comfortable womb-like tank.
She tried to move, but her arms were still secured to the chair back. A soft touch along her collar bone stilled her motions, and she shuddered as fingers trailed over her shoulders.
The soothing display in her mask intensified, seizing her thoughts and guiding them down more useful paths. Everything was as it should be. She was prepped for Installation.
She wanted it so badly. To be joined to Hive. To be with Hive.
The eye symbol fixed in the center of her vision stared at her. Saw all parts of her. She just knew that it was Hive looking at her, judging her. Wanting her.
She was prepared.
Something hot and hard pressed again her chest, against her breastbone. A searing pain accompanied the hard pressure, and her body vibrated in pain.
She chewed on the gag and watched the eye. Pain was nothing in service to Hive. Being a Drone was everything. She was a Drone.
The mantra brought her through the agony, and soon the pain subsided. She breathed more regularly, her body slowly calming. She could feel something rigid and hard on her chest. Something had been embedded into her.
She shuddered, thighs tingling. Hive had branded her in some fashion. Made her its slave. She was a Drone.
There came a hissing sound and the bulb gag inside her mouth deflated. The dancing colors on the screen went dark. The ache from her chest returned, but not as severe as before.
Hands were on her head, torquing the helmet she wore upwards. The rubber slipped from around her neck and head, leaving slick, sweaty skin behind. The gag popped out of her mouth and she blinked dumbly in the bright light, vague shadows dancing around her in perfect synchronization.
“Hello, Q-Three,” said a velvet voice. “You’re looking quite stunning.”
The shadow woman brushed a hand over Zoe’s oiled skin, pausing to gently cup one of her breasts to give it a soft squeeze. “You are very close to experiencing everything Hive has to offer. Are you ready?”
Zoe worked her stiff lips. “Yes, Mistress. This Drone is ready.”
The Drone chuckled. “I rather think our roles will be reversed soon, but I’ll leave that up to Her.”
Two other Drones moved semi-circular rigid metal pieces down from above, fixing them around Zoe’s neck. They locked together with a click, holding her head in place. The first Drone ran her fingers down Zoe’s chest, then stood back. “Welcome to the Hive,” she said with finality.
An articulated metal arm with a bulbous tip swiveled in from above. The tip had a large, blue orb on the end, with a circular black marble suspended in the center, making it look like a primitive eye.
As it swung closer, Zoe understood what it meant to do. It wanted to stick that orb inside her mouth and Install it inside her. To link her permanently to Hive. There would be no turning back after that. She would be a Drone for always and ever.
She cranked her mouth open and waited passively. She wanted to be Installed so badly. To join with Hive in perfect harmony.
The tentacle curved, shoving the globe past her lips. She almost choked on its girth, but waited patiently for it to finish its job.
A sharp jab at the back of her upper throat, and she was in ecstasy. Her consciousness ascended from her corporeal body, expanding to encompass the bright lights of nearby Drone minds. She could feel each one individually, tasting their thoughts.
She dipped inside the brain of the Drone standing in front of her, catching a glimpse of her bound body. The tentacle was slipping out of her mouth, leaving its cargo behind, the shiny blue ball embedded in the back of her throat.
It pulsed gently inside her mouth, glowing that unearthly color. Installed so deeply it could not be removed.
Her eyes flicked to her chest, spotting an oval aquamarine gem that had been embedded right above the curve of her breasts, taking pride of place in the center of a sea of blue skin. She could get lost in the shiny facets of its surface, but she had too much she wanted to explore.
Taking in her body as a whole, she gasped. Her time in the tank had remade her skin, smoothing out her features and coloring her a dark blue. All blemishes had been removed, her breasts perfect orbs. A vision of feminine beauty.
She looked perfect. She had been Converted. She was Hive.
G-Fifty Seven stood at attention in front of the fortress gatehouse, watching the bridge over the drawbridge with perfect clarity. He breathed deeply, savoring the gas that flooded the interior of his helmet.
In his hands he clutched his gas projector. Similar in shape to a flamethrower, a hose attached to the rear connected to the chrome tanks on his back. The weapon was capable of aerosolizing the gas and shooting it up to fifty feet, making it easy to hose down any attackers. Those not used to the effects of the gas would find themselves becoming very sleepy and suggestible, easy prey for the other guards.
He had been ordered to watch the entrance and detain any intruders by the Queen of this castle, and he obeyed her implicitly. It was his sacred duty to defend her from any harm. His Queen would help Hive to grow, and he would prevent anyone from stopping her plans.
He was not alone in this task. Many other guards were scattered around the perimeter, taking up positions in their sleek, black outfits. He knew there were more on the walls and in the towers as well, hidden away. If he found a threat, they would act as one to neutralize it.
Not that there had been too much resistance so far. This section of the lobby world was being swiftly conquered by Hive. New slaves were being brought in every day, subjected to heavy brainwashing and body alteration.
The physical changes wouldn’t carry through to real life, but the mental changes were permanent. Drones processed here would soon seek out a proper facility to continue their conversion once they left VR.
Everything was proceeding as planned by his Mistress.
Any concerns he had previously entertained had been removed. To become a Hive Drone was proper and just. All must see the truth and know the pleasure of obeying.
He scanned the horizon, watching the Drones go about their work. The fortress had originally been styled as a medieval castle, made out of quarried stone by friends and others associated with his guild, but that was slowly changing. Block by block, the stone was being swapped out with solid aquamarine blocks.
Gathering the rare gems was usually a feat in and of itself—crafting blocks and making a building out of them was considered the height of opulence. That Hive had the manpower to send to fetch the raw materials was a statement of strength in and of itself.
Only one of the towers had been completed, but this had been achieved in less than a day. The new fortress was shaping up to be awe inspiring.
At the end of the bridge a large pavilion had been built by the Drones, a pathway circling around a towering pillar of marble constructed in the center of a fountain. Topping the fifty foot tall tower was a gigantic blue globe that sparkled in the light of the artificial midday sun.
Anyone who was not a Drone who peered at its glimmering surface would find their mind caught as if in a sticky trap. They would be unable to move. Unable to think, until the guards arrived to take them away to be converted. He had seen a few players captured and changed by the globe. It was a symbol of Hive’s dominance.
Symbols were excellent targets for rebels, which was yet another reason why he needed to be vigilant. Nothing had happened in the last few hours, but he had caught at least one group attempting to destroy the globe while wearing blindfolds. They had been quickly swarmed, gassed, and taken away. Some of the former adventurers were now guarding the globe, dressed in black rubber suits identical to his.
His status as castle guard was no higher than theirs. They were all guard Drones, tasked to a required purpose by Hive. If Hive decided tomorrow that he should guard the lavatories, he would do as ordered. There was no question in his mind that he would obey any command, no matter how trivial the duty. This was who he was now.
A flicker of motion in the distance caught his attention. A Drone convoy was approaching, two lines of guard Drones marching on either side of a series of horse drawn carriages. At the head of the column was a contingent of horses, a Drone dressed in a purple bodysuit leading the way.
As she approached, he could see that her suit was cut to reveal her bustline, a tight corset cinched tight over her breasts. A coiled whip sat at her waist, the braided leather appearing worn with use. The sleek, black guards surrounded her, domed helmets glinting as they turned to scan their surroundings.
The horses and carriages trotted over the bridge, halting in front of the gate house. One of the horses took the opportunity to excrete waste, a slug-like mass dribbling to the cobblestones.
G-Fifty Seven was amused and surprised that the developers had found the time to implement this behavior. He frowned, blinking. Developers? What was he thinking?
He stiffened as another set of Drones approached from within the fortress. Out of the corner of his helmet he caught a glimpse of green and immediately knew that this was his Queen who he had pledged to protect. To obey and serve.
The purple Drone dismounted, handing the reins to one of her guards. In turn, they reached their hands up and unlocked their helmets, taking them off and tucking them under their arms.
G-Fifty Seven’s heart jolted. He recognized these guards, even through the haze of the gas. These were G-One Oh Five and G-One Oh Six… shit, no, that was wrong. These were his friends, Nate and Dave!
They were clearly under the thrall of the purple Drone, which he now saw was Simone, or at least the artificial facsimile of her. She gave a bright smile to the emerald green Drone, which he assumed was Q-Three—no, Zoe, his sister.
He shook his head, trying to banish the strange numbers that danced in his mind. No matter how much he tried, he couldn’t remove the glowing designations. He knew them to be true.
“A productive trip as usual, D-Ten? How many were you able to capture?”
Simone trotted up to Zoe, leaning in to give her a peck on the cheek. “What, no concern for my well being? You’re acting like I took a trip to the grocery store.”
Zoe chuckled. “I know you. Busting up a resistance gang is like baking cookies for you. Hardly a challenge. Besides, if you needed help, you would have asked for it.”
Simone patted her on the back. “That might be true, but I don’t like getting sloppy. There’s plenty more players still trying to hide from us, and they can be dangerous when cornered.”
She moved back towards the convoy, gesturing at the first carriage. “Take these, for example. They actually tried to jump me. Fortunately, my guards were quite attentive.”
Sullen faces peered out from behind steel bars, a scraggly, unkempt posse. One of them reached out towards Simone, but Dave gave him a jolt with his shockstick.
Zach shuddered. How barbaric. That could easily have been him inside that cage if he hadn’t been targeted early on.
But he had been. They had gotten to him first. Made him into their toy. Their puppet.
He shuddered. That didn’t sit well with him. Being trapped like an animal and subjected to strange tortures. Even if he’d been changed to like it after heavy conditioning.
He’d been changed. They had gotten to him. Here he sat, breathing this strange gas, watching others having their wills stripped from them. It was obscene.
He was G-Fifty Seven and he has been ordered to… no, forced to stand here and watch while carriage after carriage of clueless gamers had been fed into the maw of the fortress, turned into more Hive Drones.
His consciousness cracked through the effects of the gas, and he knew he had to do something. By himself, though, any attack was impossible. He would only be good for a short distraction, then he’d have to try for an escape—to regroup with others out there.
And then what? He had no special insider knowledge of Hive that would be useful to others. They’d brainwashed him into a subservient slave, just like all the rest. He could already feel the training strumming his subconscious, telling him to let go and breathe in another wonderful lungful of gas.
No, he wasn’t a tool to be used. He wouldn’t wait passively for the end of the world. He was Zach, dammit, an expert gamer! That should mean something!
He reached up and grasped the neck of his helmet, twisting it to release the catch and pulling it off. Tossing it over his shoulder, he quickly brought up his inventory.
Stacks and stacks of bricks for farming. Dirt, buckets of water, corn seeds, vegetables, etc. Useless in a fight.
He was equipped with a Drone uniform, and a shockstick, which could help, but he knew better than to attack the Drones with it. Yes, he might be able to incapacitate one or two, but they would easily overwhelm him. It was a weapon best used one on one, or in Hive swarming tactics.
His gas ‘flamethrower’ was even more worthless. He doubted any Drone would be even slightly inconvenienced by breathing the gas it projected. Instead, it would probably act to subdue anyone in the carriages, removing any chance of escaping with them.
With what he had, he would serve best as a distraction. Lacking more equipment, he should probably try diving over the bridge and taking his chances in the moat.
“G-Fifty Seven,” said Simone curtly. “Why have you removed your helmet? You have not been ordered to assist.” Her hand was at her waist, gripping her whip.
His eyes widened and he pointed into the distance. “Look! They’re making another attack!”
It was not a simple ruse. By some stroke of luck, a cohort of enemy knights had gathered on both sides of the globe fountain and were rapidly charging towards the castle.
The cohort of guard Drones reached for their shocksticks and rushed towards the foot of the bridge. This was his chance. He raised the nozzle of his gas thrower, pressing the trigger and hosing down the lead elements of the convoy. A billow of roiling blue gas blew outwards in a pressurized burst, quickly expanding into a large cloud.
This added to the confusion, as he had intended. While they were distracted, he rushed in towards one of carriages, hoping to find a way to release some of the prisoners to increase the confusion.
As he closed in on the bars, hands reached out to him. Most of them had female avatars and they were all nude. He did his best to ignore the grimy captives, well aware that their characters here may or may not represent what they actually looked like in real life.
That was immaterial. If they were captured and brainwashed, it wouldn’t much matter what happened once they escaped this world. They would be slaves to Hive.
To his dismay, he found the door secured with a chunky padlock. Cursing, he threw up a barricade of dirt blocks, knowing that it wouldn’t hold them for long.
“Stop!” ordered Zoe in a booming shout.
A shock wave of pressure emanated outwards from her body in a sphere, rocketing across the bridge. When it hit the globe on top of the tower, it brightened in response.
A large flash of light burst outwards, smashing back over the knights doing battle with the guards. They froze in mid attack, making it easy for the guards to jab them with their shocksticks.
Zach didn’t find himself immobilized by the bust of light, perhaps due to the changes Hive had made to him. Even so, his vision was fuzzy as he tried to come up with a solution.
He was rather out of options. The electricity from his shockstick wouldn’t do anything to that lock, and in this world he lacked the technical skills to pick it. If only he had a… oh no.
A thin whip had wrapped around his leg, a sudden jerk pulling him off his feet. He landed hard on his chest, the whip dragging him along the ground backwards.
Two black suited Drones grabbed him by the shoulders and forcefully sat him against one of the bridge trusses. Two expressionless pale faces peered down on him without seeing him. Nate and Dave, completely under the thrall of Hive.
“Come on guys,” he breathed heavily. “The joke’s over. We have some adventuring to do. Help a fellow out.”
They didn’t reply, pinning him down by his shoulders. The solid tip of a black platform boot pressed against his crotch, making him jolt, a cold sweat breaking out over his brow.
Drone Simone towered over him for a moment, grinding the sole of her shoe against his penis. His dick swelled, giving him an inconvenient erection. Simone looked at him cruelly, then withdrew.
The next figure hovering above him didn’t make him feel any better. His sister, the Queen, looked at him, not with disapproval, but with pity. Judging him with a single, intense stare. “A rather futile gesture, though not completely unexpected. More training will be required.”
She flicked her hand, clenching it into a fist. “Tell me, what did you hope to accomplish? The globe neutralized the attackers with little trouble, and the slaves in our carts never posed a threat. It was almost too easy.”
She looked around and shrugged. “This pathetic plan must not have been premeditated.”
She flexed her shoulders, emphasizing her breasts, where the shiny latex tented over her nipples. He closed his eyes, unwilling to stare at his sister’s assets—even if this wasn’t the real world, he felt sick anyway.
“You are brave, we grant you that. Brave enough to be a valuable guard Drone, but that sort of bravery makes you teeter dangerously on the precipice of stupidity.”
Zoe made a cute noise of frustration and waved at Simone.“I don’t have time for him. There is too much cleanup that needs to be done. Do what is necessary. Make him understand.”
Simone grinned. “With pleasure.”
She kicked his butt, causing him to yelp and open his eyes. She hooked her whip around the segmented belt on her waist, bending down on one knee to investigate his crotch. This gave him a perfect view of the slope between her breasts, causing his dick to tense.
She grinned, noticing his arousal. “Some people say fear is the best motivator, but I personally think that pleasure works much better. If you mix the two, however…”
Reaching down, she hooked her fingers around the zipper at his crotch, sliding it open. A hand slipped inside, clenching around his dick. He groaned, a thrill of excitement and worry sliding up his belly.
“There it is, happy to see me. Did you miss me?” She made childish noises, jerking his cock out into the open. It sprung to attention, rock hard. “Mmm, I can’t wait to swallow your dick with my pussy. It’s going to feel so good.”
Leaning forward, she unzipped her crotch and pressed her bare flesh against his length, sitting on his belly. He gritted his teeth, aware that he had no choice but to take it.
“Ah, but he’s clearly not in the proper frame of mind. Let’s give him some incentive.”
She pressed her hands against the top of her breasts, pushing down. This emphasized the amethyst embedded in her breastbone, light twinkling from its interior.
“Blue Orchid,” she said breathlessly, pushing her chest forward so that he could get a better look.
The phrase caught in his mind, a skeleton key opening hidden doors. His back arched and he breathed out with excitement, staring at the gem, thoughts spinning in a circle.
He had been caught. He belonged to Her. He was a Drone.
The train of thought paused, then began again. He was a Drone. A Drone. He must service his Mistress. D-10.
He spotted the intricate collar clasped around her neck and knew that this was her role. She was a Director. He was just a simple guard. He would obey her
His Mistress grabbed his penis and pressed the head into her vagina, pressing her butt down on top of him to thrust it home. He gasped, shocked at the raw pleasure of the encounter, made more vibrant by the knowledge that he was fulfilling his duty as her fuck toy.
D-10 rolled her hips, ensuring that his length was buried as deep as it could go in her snatch. She gestured at G-One Oh Five and G-One Oh Six and they grabbed his arm pits, pulling him upright.
D-10 wrapped her legs around his waist, showing off her flexibility as she remained on his dick as he was lifted to his feet and pressed against the side of the bridge. She wrapped her arms around his back and kissed him on the nose.
“It’s impossible to tell the difference any more, isn’t it? G-Fifty Seven—or Zach? Are they separable? Or are they one and the same? Does it really matter either way if this feels so good?”
He made a grunting noise, but didn’t reply. “I know, you’re too far gone to say anything intelligible right now. You’ve been broken back down to your most instinctive state. To… oh… serve and protect.”
She grasped his shoulders and eased her feet down the back of his thighs, making sure to clench her pelvic muscles as she did so, enhancing his pleasure. Leaning in again, she pressed her latexed chest against his, whispering in his ear.
“None of you stood a chance from the start. We control everything here. Even this attempt at resistance is just a game for us to break down your will even further.”
In the background, the carriages had been hooked up and brought into the castle, freeing up the bridge for the guards. They swarmed like bees, fetching fallen warriors and putting them on carts. They, too, would soon experience the same treatment as their compatriots.
Transformed. Made to serve Hive. It was inevitable.
“Providing hope, then snatching it away. That’s the most effective way to harness a will.”
His sister, Q-Three, directed the guards, organizing the carts. She was in control, a pure extension of Hive’s will. How could he deny her dominance?
“You belong to Hive, don’t you?”
His breath came in short bursts. He knew the truth now. “I… am a Drone. I belong to Hive, Mistress.”
He was being Controlled by a Director. By D-10.
He was a Drone. Drones did not have names. They had numbers. He was G-Fifty Seven, a guard for Q-Three. He belonged to Hive, just like his friends. Just like his sister.
He moaned in orgasm, D-10 milking him to completion.
Jack arrived home in a rush, his mind working frantically. Even taking public transport had given him the jitters. He didn’t know how far the aliens had managed to infiltrate the city, and the speculation was driving him crazy.
The worst part was, nobody believed him. He had tried contacting his boss, but had been laughed off. Told he was imagining things.
This wasn’t just a moonshine dream. What he had seen was real, and he wasn’t going to wait around to find out what would happen next. First, he would warn his family. Then, he would try to find someone higher up in the government who would believe him.
They must be warned! With the aliens in control of the water supply, nowhere in town would be safe. Unsuspecting citizens would drink whatever the aliens were doctoring the water with and then… what then? He couldn’t possibly imagine.
Poison? It would be quite simple to destroy most of the town that way, but they didn’t see like terrorists. Black ops troops, perhaps. Ultharians? No, they wouldn’t risk an attack on the seat of the galactic empire after brokering a treaty. That would be madness. Factionalists, perhaps.
Whatever their cause, he wasn’t going to wait around to find out. It was time to take action.
Unlocking the front door, he stomped into the kitchen. Susan was there, filling her mug with tea. She was about to take a sip, but he held out his hand. “Give it to me.”
She raised an eyebrow, but handed it over. He proceeded to toss the contents down the drain. Setting the mug on the counter, he unplugged the kettle and poured what water remained into the sink.
“I assume you have a reason for this,” said Susan, folding her hands.
“It’s not safe. The water plant has been compromised.” He set the kettle down with a hard clunk.
“I want you to gather up Zach and Zoe. Tell them we’re preparing for an extended trip. I don’t want to alarm them too much. Just get them out of here. Go to your mother’s. With any luck, I’ll get this sorted out and you can come back home in a few weeks.”
“Jack?” asked Susan with worried eyes, moving in to gently grasp his arm. “What’s really going on?”
He closed his eyes and pressed his fingers to his temples. “I don’t know enough to figure it out. I only have a few pieces of the puzzle.”
Her fingers tightened their grip. “Jack, I’m afraid.”
Jack ran his fingers down her back, giving her a hug. “Don’t worry, we’ll get through this.”
“No, you don’t understand,” she said, her grip strength increasing. “I’m afraid you might escape before you’ve had a chance to absorb your conditioning.”
She turned him around, forcing him to face the globe on the kitchen table, which flashed blue. The world spun around him, shadows in blue. Everything was spinning.
“Welcome to Hive, Drone,” said the globe, pulsing. The edges of his vision whited out, his visual field dominated by the swirling blue mass.
Zoe whistled as she returned home, comfortable in her new body. She could feel the bright thoughts of the Drones escorting her, reveling in the cozy warmth of their mental embrace.
Her new existence in the Gestalt was far beyond what she had expected. Not only could she feel what other Drones were thinking, but if she desired, she could dip into their minds to understand why they were thinking that way.
This made it easy to gain a quick consensus for planning next steps. In her new role as Queen, she would be in charge of a large area of this planet. She would need to gather supporters and bring much of the populace under her thrall as quickly as possible.
Fortunately, there were many plans already in motion that would help her to do just that. The personal assistant globes were brainwashing families into submission. The news broadcasts were convincing everyone that being converted into Drone skin was fashionable. The last gambit was the takeover of the town’s water plant, which would allow Hive to add a subtle sedative to everyone’s drinks.
Before they knew it, all of them would be serving Hive, in one way or another. It was inevitable.
First, however, she needed to ensure that her family was under control. It wouldn’t do for one of them to escape Hive’s grasp as she was assuming a greater role in Drone hierarchy. That would make her look weak.
She rang the doorbell and waited patiently, tapping her booted toes against the concrete porch. It was hard to wait, filled with the fire of Hive. The urgent need to convert others was all consuming, such that she could barely restrain herself.
She arched an eyebrow and looked at the others who had come with her. Two guards escorted her, shocksticks gripped in their hands to intercept anyone trying to escape.
Her friend, Simone, had opted to wear a fake white fur overcoat, cinched tight around her bodysuit. When she changed position, Zoe could see glimpses of the taut purple latex of her bodysuit flexing over her belly. It lent her an air of mystery, but didn’t disguise her blue skin or the gem that had been embedded in her chest.
Zoe knew that if she opened her mouth, she would be able to see the ball Installed in the back of her throat. Just like her. Both of them had been Installed into the same Gestalt, giving them unprecedented access to other Hive Drones.
She was still getting used to calling Simone by her new designation, D-Ten. It was hard to overcome the inertia of a lifetime, but it was necessary. Drones didn’t have names, they had numbers. She had a number, too. Q-Three.
The number wrapped around the core of blue that had taken its place as her central being. Her reason for existing. She still thought of herself as Zoe, but she suspected that might change as she further embraced her Drone self.
It hadn’t quite settled in that she was a Queen. It was unsettling, but this new truth had been burned into her brain along with an undying loyalty to Hive. She would get over it. Hive would help her.
Simone unfurled a whip in her hands, caressing its leather surface.
Zoe frowned. “Put that away. We’re not going to whip my family.”
D-Ten shrugged, curling up the whip and tucking it away under her coat. “As you wish, my Queen.”
Zoe rolled her eyes. “I can feel your desire to chase. To capture. That won’t be needed here, but I will find an appropriate mission for you soon. There will be plenty of resistance that will need to be stamped out.”
At this, D-Ten’s mouth drew wide in a cruel grin. “I do hope they try to run, my Queen. We will track them down and make sure they submit.”
She was being overzealous, but Zoe could hardly blame her. The same impulses drove her, but she had mastery over them. She needed to remain in control. That was her role.
Nobody had answered the door, and she felt like she had waited long enough. “D-Ten. Handle this.”
“With pleasure,” she replied, reaching out to grip the handle and crack the door open.
Zoe made a surprised noise, while Simone barked a laugh. “I might be aggressive, but I’m a firm believer in doing the simplest thing that could possibly work.”
Amused, Zoe moved over the threshold, looking around carefully to make sure nobody was lying in wait. She didn’t really expect it, but didn’t wish to be caught unawares.
Faint moans came from the kitchen. She gave a cursory glance up the stairs, but saw nothing, so she moved towards the sounds of pleasure.
Susan was riding Jack’s dick on the kitchen table, leaning over him with her breasts exposed. Jack stared at them, watching as she fondled them with abandonment. As she rocked forward and back, the globe on the table pulsed in time with her moans.
Zach was there, too, but he sat silent in his VR suit, staring deep into the globe. It was impossible to tell whether he was playing in the virtual world, but he appeared comatose. Every so often, he would make a small shiver, the only sign of life.
Simone stepped up to the table, examining Jack. “There is no resistance remaining, my Queen. Unit I-Forty Four has neutralized him.”
Susan continued to fuck her husband, a cute smile pasted to her face. “This Drone is in control, Mistress. Give me an order.”
Zoe walked up to her father, diverting her eyes from the raunchy display. Sex was a natural part of being a Drone. However, she did not find any joy in watching her parents partake.
She peered down at Jack, smiling at him. He was another Drone, like her, but he would never have the responsibilities she had now acquired. Instead, he would be happy with his assigned task, as all Drones were.
“Who are you?” she asked Jack. “Who do you serve?”
“I am a Drone,” he wheezed heavily, muscles straining, a flush on his cheeks. “Designation M-Fifty Six. I serve Hive.”
His eyes focused on her and widened. “I serve you. My Queen.”
His body shuddered and his eyes rolled up in his head. Moaning in orgasm, he looked back at his wife. “Don’t stop,” he begged.
Zoe smiled at him gently. “Do as he requests,” she ordered her mother. “Make sure he is sufficiently pacified, then take him to be Tanked and Installed.”
“Yes, my Queen. I obey.” Her breasts wobbled as she shifted into high gear, hips wiggling as she worked him over.
“What have we here?” asked Simone, scooting around the table to stand behind Zach.
Grasping the back of his chair, she pulled him away from the table, wincing at the sound the legs made against the floor. Zach didn’t react, staring at the pulsing globe with his hands folded over his chest.
From her vantage point, Zoe immediately saw why. A robotic sphere had swallowed his crotch, jumping up and down as it sucked on his penis. His lips wavered and he groaned softly with satisfaction.
The robot chirped, a lurid, red eye on its top looking up at her. It flexed the legs it had wrapped around his hips. The Enforcer had him in its grip, and he would be unable to disobey the pleasure it was flooding his brain with.
She patted the surface of the machine, pleased with the slick, metallic feel of its surface. Whatever Zach was seeing inside his VR world would be more than sufficient to keep him under control.
“I am satisfied,” she declared. “They are subdued.” She turned to Simone. “Take G-Fifty Seven with you. He is doubtless ready to be Installed. I will join you later—there is one more task I must perform here.”
She turned, dismissing them to their duties. She knew they would obey her implicitly, for they were Drones. She did not need to supervise.
A command was unfolding in her mind. One last piece of unfinished business.
Walking to the front entrance, she turned right and climbed the stairs. She was eager to retrieve what had been left for her in the box Hive had sent with her the other day.
Even so, she took measured steps. This was inevitable. No need to rush.
With each footfall, her anticipation increased. She reached out through the Gestalt, feeling the other Drones gathering up her hypnotized family.
They would undertake the same journey she had, harnessed and Installed as Hive Drones. Assigned a role, becoming a part of her realm. She would be responsible for all of them. A frightening prospect. She hoped she would be a good Queen.
As she reached the top of the stairs, her anxiety peaked, then disappeared. Her worries were nonsense. Hive was there to support her. She would not fail.
With confident strides, she entered her bedroom and searched for the box in her closet, pulling it out and setting it on her bed.
It felt like it had been a long time since she had first put on her Drone uniform. Almost so long that she had forgotten what else remained in the box.
She was ready for it now. Ready to accept the responsibility.
Reaching inside, her fingers closed around a circle of metal. It was an intricate gift Hive had given her to welcome her into her new role. Once she had wrapped it around her neck, it would mark her as a Drone, and as a Queen.
Without thinking, she pressed the cold metal against her neck and locked it shut, rejoicing in the cool feel of its tight embrace.
She was owned by Hive, adjusted and improved to take her place among the other Drones. Made whole.
Looking up, she smiled in the mirror, watching sparkling purple eyes. They looked like small gems adrift in a sea of dark blue skin. Her red lips and white teeth only served to highlight the other changes Hive had made to her.
The aquamarine gem on her chest. The globe in her mouth. The collar which proclaimed her number. Q-Three. A Queen of Hive.
She opened her jaw wide to admire the blue globe Installed inside. It flashed at her, snaring her mind in the endless murmur of the Gestalt.
One Drone, of many.