The Erotic Mind-Control Story Archive

The AATGV was on the road as soon as there was enough light to see, which was only after dawn. Clouds had rolled in and the sky overhead was grey and dark.

According to Vanderbruk, the lab was at a place called Cliffgarden. None of the Stranders had heard of it, but she said it was located towards the tip of the Jade peninsula, a curved tail of land separated from the rest of Verdis by a vast marsh called the Zhaoze. There was one road across it, unless they wanted to drive to the mountains some four hundred kilometers to the east. Which was an option, but would add days to the trip.

Any other world, they’d have had an aircar and been there in a few hours.

Then again, thought Margot, any other world and she wouldn’t be fleeing from brain-consuming xenos.

The clouds brought no relief from the heat, which was as sticky and unrelenting as ever. Margot was thankful for the vehicle’s cooling system. Heading south should help; the Jade peninsula was over a days’ drive away, assuming that they could drive uninterrupted without encountering roadblocks or xeno infested towns. The route would take them out of Verdis’ muggy jungles and into drier, cooler terrain, home to a few large agri-collectives and few settlements of any size.

“It looks like there are only two towns at that end of the continent,” Margot observed, sliding the map around on the datapad. “One on this side of the Zhaoze, next to the ocean, called Savoy, and one kind of in the middle of the peninsula on the other side, called Zhuetia. There’s no sign of any Cliffgarden.”

“Not surprising if the place is classified,” Stone replied. “I’ve heard of those towns, although I haven’t been down there myself.” She squinted at the road. A fat raindrop hit the windshield, followed by another, and then a million. “Savoy’s a port town, there’s a fair amount of agriculture down that way. Couple of thousand people. Zhuetia is maybe half that size? Used to be an Imperial base down there but it’s been shuttered for decades. Dunno what the locals do.”

Margot looked out the window. The jungle was being lashed by rain. It roared against the AATGV. “Do you think they got hit? During the invasion?”

“No idea,” Stone replied. “Pretty small towns, but...” she shrugged. “Who knows.”

The AATGV slowed; sheets of rain drifted across the road, shimmering in the headlights.

Seshan Lao, possibly the last man alive on Verdis, sat in the AATGV’s rear. He looked out the narrow windows, watching the jungle go past. If they encountered hostiles his job was to man the RKT, but the one and only time he had trained on one was fifteen months ago and in a simulator to boot.

His marks had barely been passing.

Hopefully the rain would keep the xenos indoors.

Behind the AATGV came two EVDP patrol groundcars.

In the first, Han-Irinov chewed distractedly on a wad of chewing gum and tried to keep the red rear lights of the AATGV clearly in sight. In the back of the groundcar, behind the clear impact-resistant plastic divider, sat Cora, dressed in an EVDP uniform, her hands in her lap, cuffed together.

They had debated dressing the captives; nudity was tolerable, almost preferable, in the muggy police station, but in the running vehicles it seemed masochistic not to use the coolers, which would have made it too cold to be naked. It would also have seemed odd—to say the least—to be transporting nude women, had they encountered another group of survivors.

Junipero had made the obvious observation that it would also seem strange for the people in the rear of the police vehicles to be dressed in police uniforms; but those were the clothes available and if they did encounter any uninfested people, well, they could explain at that point. Everyone else was in military uniform anyway.

So Cora had been dressed, cuffed, and deposited in the back of one patrol cruiser; and Dr. Vanderbruk, regardless of her apparently cooperative nature, was placed in the back of the second.

Currently, Cruzado-Liu was driving that second car; Junipero was riding with her.

“It’s like... it’s not real, you know?” Junipero said. Rain flew frantically from the windshield wipers.

“Mm,” Cruzado-Liu replied.

“What are we going to do? I mean, you’re telling us we can’t go back home. How are we supposed to—”

“We’re going to visit this secret lab and find the bug spray and kill all these fucking things,” Cruzado-Liu said, her eyes not leaving the road.

“But what if—”

“And if that doesn’t pan out, we’ll nick a boat and head off to the Spraydrift islands. I don’t fucking know, Private. I’m doing this one thing at a time. They pay the Captain to make these decisions.” Cruzado-Liu shrugged. “Or maybe they don’t pay her, given that they’re all fucking dead now.”

Junipero looked out the window.

Cruzado-Liu sighed. “Look... Liqin, was it? That’s your name, right? Look, Liqin, I’m sorry. I’m just... I’m dealing with it by pretending it isn’t real, you know? It’s too big, too fucked up, to think about. I didn’t mean to... to fuck with you.”

“No, no—you’re right. We have a next step. Let’s take that, and then... and then deal with what comes after.”

“How old are you, Liqin? Eighteen?”

“Twenty.”

“Twenty. Right. From Verdis? Originally?”

“East Verdis. Randhra Pulao.”

“Great. Well... you know, maybe they didn’t get hit so badly. Maybe they’re okay over there. But who knows? If we can find this bug spray, we can do something about this, maybe survive, maybe kill some bugs, maybe even rescue a few people. Focus on that. Don’t get overwhelmed. Don’t focus on things you have no control over.”

“I’ll try.”

The tires hissed on the wet pavement.

“It’s actually a biological agent,” came the cool voice from the back.

Cruzado-Liu rolled her eyes. “Thank you, doctor,” she said. “We appreciate the clarification.”

“I understand your sarcasm,” Vanderbruk replied. “But I just wanted to clarify. It is not a chemical agent, it is a biological agent. That has certain ramifications for handling and dispersal...” She sighed. “I’m sorry. I know I’m being... it’s just... I can’t see, and I’m scared, and I wanted to talk.”

Junipero turned around. The sight of the black carapaced thing attached to Vanderbruk’s head still sent shivers through her, but she pushed her fear away. “We’re sorry, Doctor, of course... I can’t imagine how it... what would you like to talk about?”

“Well, I, uh...” Vanderbruk paused. “Have either of you ever been off-world?”

The kilometers rolled by.

The rain slackened, then returned, then slackened again, never quite stopping.

The roads were in good shape, well-maintained. Occasionally they would pass darkened buildings; cabins in the jungle for recreation, a farm or two surrounded by fruit trees, every now and then a roadside store. None of them appeared to be occupied. They encountered no other vehicles, no sign of any other human beings at all.

Margot shifted in her seat. “Don’t you think we should have seen someone?”

“Not really,” Stone replied. “This south-central area, no one lives down here. With the power out, I expect that either people here are hunkered down or they’ve fled. When we get closer to Savoy I expect we’ll see more life. Of one sort or another.”

“How long until then?”

“Hours. Most of the day.”

“Ah.”

Stone looked at her. “We’ll drive another two, three hours, and stop for a break. If we pass someplace that might have some food we can pull in. But the longer we take to get to this Cliffgarden place, the more likely that Doctor Vanderbruk will... get taken over.”

“And we need her to get into this place.”

“I figure. You need to stop now?”

“I’m fine, Captain,” Margot said.

Stone turned her head and spoke over her shoulder. “Hey, Lao,” she called. “How are you holding up?”

“I’m... okay, Captain,” he replied. “Hanging in there.”

“Good. Gonna be a while.”

“Roger that.”

Margot picked up Stone’s datapad for the eighth time that hour. She gazed at the map, at the long line cutting through kilometers of empty jungle, at the cleared area forming a half-moon around the handful of streets that was Savoy, right up against the ocean. She drew a line with her finger, tracing their route.

“Stone?”

“Yes?”

Margot looked over. “Do you really think that, uh, that this is the best plan? I mean, we’ve only got Vanderbruk’s word that this lab even exists. And she’s...”

“...not necessarily trustworthy?”

“Yeah.”

“Mm.” Stone’s mouth flexed. “I’ve been thinking about that. Cruzado-Liu had a look at the information she’d stored, and Cliffgarden is apparently a real place, and Imperial echelon-restricted, although what they were really doing there who knows. But let me ask you a question: you’re looking at the junction with 799 and thinking that we could head east, right? Head east into the mountains and just hide out.”

“Yes, that was what was crossing my mind.”

Stone sighed, still not looking away from the road. “That’s been on my mind as well. For me, personally... I’d rather fight these fuckers and die in the attempt than head for the hills and hope we can survive until the Empire arrives to save us. My life—my old life—is dead, Belangier. Everyone I know and care about is dead. I’d rather hit back.”

Margot nodded, and looked out the window.

“I understand if it’s not the same for you. This isn’t your home. Not that we have a prayer of getting you off-world, but if—when—the Empire arrives, you could go back to the way things were. I recognize that. So when we get to the junction, we’ll stop and sort things out.”

“Sort things out?”

“See who wants to go to Cliffgarden, and who wants to hide out in the mountains.”

“A vote?”

“No. Anyone who wants to go to Cliffgarden can go. Anyone who wants to head east and find a place to hide can take the groundcars and go that way. I’m going to need the AATGV, obviously.”

Margot almost blurted out that she was in, that she’d go with the Captain, but... she hesitated. Was that really what she wanted? If the Imperial forces did come, she had a life to go back to.

A life without Xiulan.

The rain thickened again.

In the groundcar behind them, Cora tapped against the plastic divider.

Han-Irinov glanced back. “Yeah?”

“May I have something to drink, please?”

There was a squeeze bottle lying on the passenger seat. Han-Irinov gave it a look.

“When we stop,” she replied.

“I’m thirsty,” Cora said. “I just want a little water.”

“No. I’m not opening the divider.”

“Oh.” Cora leaned forward a little, her cuffed wrists drawn up against her belly. “In that case, I have a second question.”

“Yeah?” Han-Irinov responded.

“When you think about my dark pools, do they tempt you in?”

Han-Irinov’s brows creased for a moment, then her face slackened into a vague smile and she sighed. “Yes,” she responded, “your pools are what I desire.” Her body sagged a little into the seat. “My mind is open and my attitude is good,” she said dreamily.

“Very good,” Cora said, sliding forward on the seat, her face almost pressed against the plastic. “Welcome back, Pearl. Welcome back to your dream. You feel good, and safe, and happy. Do you feel safe and happy?”

“Yes,” Han-Irinov said. “I feel safe and happy.”

“Very good, Pearl,” Cora replied. “Now, you are driving in your dream and it is very important that you do not crash, so keep your eyes on the car in front and drive safely. Can you do that for me?”

“Yes,” Han-Irinov nodded. “I will drive safely.”

“Very good. Please open the divider. You know that you are safe and that you can trust me.”

“Of course,” Han-Irinov replied, and reached back to unlatch the divider. She slid it open with one hand.

“Very good, Pearl. Thank you. Now, if you please, hand me the water bottle. I truly am thirsty.”

“Of course,” Han-Irinov said again. She picked up the bottle and passed it back. Cora raised her cuffed hands together and took it.

“Thank you,” she said. She lifted the bottle to her mouth and sucked from it.

“Ahhh,” she exhaled. “Thanks again. Mm. You’re a good person, Pearl, and you’re very good to me.”

Han-Irinov stared forward out the window and smiled vaguely.

Cora’s neck twitched. She popped open the cap on the water bottle,and raised it to her mouth, wrapping her lips around the opening. With her new glands she squirted fluid into the mostly-empty bottle. When she was done, she lowered it from her mouth and pushed the cap back down.

“Now Pearl, I want you to take the bottle back. Here. Good. Now drink it, Pearl, drink it all down.”

Han-Irinov raised the bottle to her lips and sucked from it until it was empty.

“Good girl, Pearl, very good. Let’s give that a minute to start coursing through your system and enhance your thinking. Yes, good. We’re just going to have a little talk, Pearl, me and you. Just friends. Girlfriends. Do you remember what we did, Pearl? What you and I did together?”

“We had... sex,” Han-Irinov replied, her voice a little unsteady.

“Yes, Pearl, we did. We had wonderful sex, and you loved it, and you were sooo good. You want more sex, Pearl, don’t you? You’re horny again, I can feel it, and that’s good, you should be horny, there’s no one here but me and you. Go ahead, Pearl, slide a hand into those pants. Touch yourself. It’s okay, you’re in a sex dream, and you and I are lovers.”

“Yes,” Han-Irinov replied. Her eyes were glazed and fixed on the AATGV’s rear lights, and her left hand slipped off of the wheel and slid down into her pants.

“Very good, Pearl. Lover. My lover. Stroke your pussy, lover, gently, like I would very much like to do. And I will, Pearl, my lover, very soon. We will be together soon. We are lovers, right, Pearl? You and I? I am your lover and you are mine. Lovers. Us.”

“Mm. Lovers.”

“Yes. We are lovers, Pearl, and because we are lovers you know that you can trust me. You do trust your lover, don’t you, Pearl? Tell me that you trust me. You trust me with anything.”

“I... I, uh...”

“Pearl,” Cora said, mock-disapproving. “We’re lovers. I ate your pussy. You ate mine. Touch yourself, Pearl. Remember. Remember me licking you there. How much you loved it. Wasn’t it good, Pearl? Tell me how good it was.”

“Good... so good.”

“Yes. We are lovers, Pearl. I love you. You know that I love you. How much pleasure I give you. Tell me that we are lovers, Pearl. Tell me that you are my lover.”

“I’m your... lover.”

“Yesss. Yes, Pearl, yes. We are lovers. I would never hurt you, Pearl. I love you. You know that you can trust me. Do you trust me, Pearl?”

“I... yes. Yes, I do.”

“Say it to me, lover. Say ‘I trust my lover, Cora’.”

“I trust my lover, Cora.”

“Say, ‘Cora is my lover’.”

“Cora is my lover.”

“Say it again.”

“Cora is my lover.”

“Say ‘I trust Cora.’”

“I trust Cora.”

“Good, Pearl, good. You know that it’s true. We are lovers. You know that I would never hurt you. Unfortunately, we have to wait a little while before we can make love again. Got places to go. But while we’re on the way, I have a few things to tell you, and for you to believe. So I want you to just stroke your pussy and watch the road and listen to my words, lover, just listen to all the things I say and believe them all...”

In contrast to Han-Irinov’s half-lidded eyes and stroking hand, Andreia Cruzado-Liu drove with her shoulders straight, hands correctly positioned on the wheel, and her eyes fixed and staring.

She was equally deep in trance; but Doctor Vanderbruk had instructed her to focus on driving, to repeat the mantra she was given, and to be utterly unaware of anything else until her hypnotist spoke her name.

“I trust Doctor Emilee Vanderbruk,” Cruzado-Liu whispered to herself. “I trust her utterly. She knows what is best. I will always do as she says.” She blinked once, slowly and deliberately. It was part of her mantra. “I trust Doctor Emilee Vanderbruk...”

Next to her, in the passenger seat, Private Liqin Junipero was asleep.

Vanderbruk was listening to her placid breathing, listening intently. Listening from quite close—the plastic divider was all the way open, and Vanderbruk had her head stuck entirely through it, her head tilted to face the sleeping Junipero, barely twenty centimeters away.

Vanderbruk’s mouth was open, wide open. Junipero exhaled quietly, and as her chest stopped its downward motion, Vanderbruk squirted a fine mist towards Junipero’s face. Junipero inhaled, and sucked the mist into her sleeping nostrils.

This went on for several kilometers.

Finally, Vanderbruk slowly closed her mouth. She could not in fact see—the seeding drone atop her head was by now quite dead—but she could hear Junipero’s breathing even with the road noise, could sense how it had deepened as Junipero slid further into a drugged slumber.

“Liqin”, she said quietly. “Liqin, can you hear me? I am speaking to you, Liqin. Liqin, if you can hear me, just say ‘yes’.”

Liqin’s lips twitched but did not actually part.

“Tell me ‘yes’, Liqin,” Vanderbruk commanded. “You don’t need to wake up, you don’t need to think, just hear my words and obey. Say ‘yes’.”

“yyyes,” Liqin breathed.

“Good girl,” Vanderbruk replied. “Very good girl. Just listen to my voice, Liqin. Listen to my voice, and relax, and sleep. You are deeply asleep, deeply relaxed. Nothing can trouble you. Listen to my voice and sleep, Liqin. Relax and sleep. Tell me, Liqin, as you listen to my voice, my familiar voice, do you remember who I am?”

“Doctr... Vrdrbuk.”

“Yes, Liqin, Doctor Vanderbruk. You’re asleep and I’m just sitting in the back of the car, nattering on, saying nice things to you and you are listening to my words, relaxed and asleep. As I chatter on and on and you just listen, letting my words flow into you. It feels nice, Liqin, listening to my words. I have a nice voice and I say nice things, and you like listening to me chatter, letting my words flow into you. It is nice, isn’t it, Liqin, listening to me talk? Tell me that you like listening to me. Say ‘yes’.”

“Yes,” Liqin mumbled sleepily.

“Very good, Liqin, very good. Good girl. I love talking to you and you love to listen, even when you are so deeply and restfully asleep. You’re such a good girl, Liqin, so wise for one so young. You learn from your elders, you listen to them and you do what they say. You know that the best course of action is always to listen and follow the instructions of people who are wise and experienced. Tell me, Liqin, do you listen to your elders?”

“I... yes....”

“Good, very good, Liqin. I know you are a very respectful girl, very deferential. You listen to those who know better than you and you do what they say. You always do as you are told, Liqin, you know that it is best. You are young and inexperienced and you know this, so you listen to your elders and you obey them. It makes you feel good to do as you are told. Say it, Liqin, say ‘I always do as I am told.’”

“Always do as... ‘m told.”

“Yes you do Liqin, you always do as you are told. You are a smart and obedient girl and you know that what your elders tell you to do is best. You know that what I tell you to do is best. You know that I am a scientist and a doctor and I managed to stop the xeno from taking over my mind. You think I am very impressive and very wise, Liqin. You know that I am extremely wise and smart and that you should listen to me and to what I say. Tell me, Liqin, tell me that I am very wise.”

“You are... very wise.”

“Tell me that you will always listen to me.”

“I will always listen to you.”

“Tell me that you will do what I say.”

“I will do what you say.”

“Very good, Liqin, very good. You are a smart obedient girl who does what she is told. You know that I am much wiser than you and you will do what I tell you. You will obey me, Doctor Vanderbruk. Say ‘I will always obey Doctor Vanderbruk.’”

“I will always obey Doctor Vanderbruk.”

“Very good, Liqin.”

Margot stepped out of the AATGV and frowned as a wall of hot, misty air rolled over her.

She looked back at the groundcars; Han-Irinov was stepping out of the front car, and Cruzado-Liu was opening the door of the second. The rain had dwindled to a fine mist. It was frosting Margot’s hair with tiny glistening drops. At the same time, steam rose from the slick pavement.

The travel store was dark; signs advertising junk food and sugary beverages plastered the front windows.

Stone came around the front of the AATGV. “I’ve asked Lao to stay in the AATGV in case we need him to man the RKT. After we check the place out, I’ll switch with him so he can stretch his legs.”

“Roger,” Margot responded. The other SSDF women were approaching across the steaming pavement.

“Supply stop,” Stone said as they walked up. “Plus a chance to walk around. You have your sidearms?”

“Yep,” Han-Irinov replied, tapping her holster.

“Yes, Captain,” Cruzado-Liu replied. She tilted her head towards the patrol groundcars. “Junipero’s asleep. Should I wake her up?”

“No need,” Stone said. “Okay, two of us go in, two stay here until the ‘all-clear’.”

“I’ll go in,” Han-Irinov said. “The rain fucking sucks.”

“This isn’t rain,” Cruzado-Liu replied. “This is piss. I’ll go too.”

“All right, go,” Stone told them. “I’ll cover the door. Sergeant, watch the exterior.”

Which left Margot standing in the drizzle as the other three walked up to the darkened store. The front door was open; after a glance inside, Han-Irinov and Cruzado-Liu went in, while Stone stood at the door, her pistol in one hand.

Margot stood next to the AATGV and looked into the jungle. It glittered wetly; with the heavy cloud cover, she couldn’t see more than a few meters through the trees and bushes.

Would the xenos fan out across the continent, crawling through the jungle? Or were they just here for the human settlements, and would therefore restrict themselves to places where the people were?

The answer made a huge difference to the viability of hiding out until Imperial help arrived.

Cruzado-Liu reappeared in the doorway, and spoke quickly with Captain Stone. Stone nodded, and walked over to Margot.

“Place is clear,” she said. “I’ll man the RKT and let Lao help with the looting. You four pick up whatever food you can—get the imperishables, obviously. No idea if we can resupply at Savoy. We’ll aim to head out in fifteen minutes.”

“Roger that,” Margot replied, walking towards the building.

Inside, it was a typical roadside traveler store. Chest-high aisles of mostly snack food, a counter behind which the shopkeep could sit, a register for cash sales. Han-Irinov had found some cardboard boxes and was on her knees in the center aisle, shifting cans into one of them.

Margot went around behind the counter and through the open door into the little back room. It was a kitchen, with a small round table for eating; in the other half of the room there was a threadbare sofa facing a wall-mounted video monitor, and a narrow staircase.

Cruzado-Liu’s boots appeared on the stairs, and Margot watched as she descended them. She saw Margot and jerked a thumb behind her.

“Living space,” she said. “Couple of bedrooms and an office. Restroom if you need to use it.”

“I’m good,” Margot replied. She looked again at the small kitchen table. “Hey, look at this,” she said.

The table was set—and there was food on it. Three plates, each with some carrots, celery, and part of a sandwich. “Someone was here,” Margot said. She lifted a celery stick. “This looks fresh.”

Cruzado-Liu came over to the table. “There hasn’t been power for days,” she replied.

Margot nodded, opened one of the half-eaten sandwiches. “Yeah, but this bread is still soft. You didn’t see any sign of anyone?”

Cruzado-Liu shook her head. “Nope. There is nobody upstairs.”

“Hm. Wonder where they went that they couldn’t finish their lunch?”

They looked at each other.

Cruzado-Liu shrugged. “No idea. Maybe hiding from us in the jungle? Place doesn’t have a basement, not sure where they’d hide indoors. In any case, why don’t you load up from the cupboards in here, I’ll pack up from the front with Pearl. There are some cardboard boxes behind the counter.”

“Roger that,” Margot said. She went to fetch some boxes and tried to put the half-eaten sandwiches out of her mind.

The rain came back again in force, not half an hour after they’d left the travel store.

No one had appeared to complain as they loaded the boxes of food into the rear of the AATGV. The store owners couldn’t be afraid of a handful of women, even in military dress; Strand wasn’t that sort of polity.

But wherever they’d gone, they didn’t turn up.

Margot had offered to swap with either of the women driving the groundcars, but they’d demurred. “I prefer to be behind the steering wheel,” Han-Irinov said. “No offense to Captain Stone’s driving.” Cruzado-Liu had concurred. Private Junipero was still asleep, so in the end they’d just left things as they stood and all gone back to their previous seats.

The road was still wet, but the rain had dwindled away to ominous clouds, allowing the convoy to make better speed.

“We’ll hit the junction with 799 in an hour,” Stone observed. “Maybe a little less if the rain doesn’t start shitting on us again.”

“Captain... I’ve decided I want to stay with you.” Margot said. “We need to fight back. If there’s a chance we can hurt these fuckers... it’s worth it.”

“I figured you’d think that way. We’ll stop at the junction anyway, make sure everyone’s on board. We should start hitting the farms around Savoy pretty quick after that.”

“What do you think we’ll find in Savoy?”

Stone sighed. “I honestly don’t know. It’s the ass-end of the continent, no reason to go there, but... if the xenos are trying to get everyone then they’d have to hit Savoy. That and Zhuetia are the only towns in this entire sector; get them and you’ve gotten everyone south of the Bing Fei river.”

Margot nodded.

“I guess we’ll see.”

“I love Cora,” Han-Irinov said robotically.

She stared at the AATGV’s rear lights through the lashing rain.

“Cora is my lover. I love Cora. I trust Cora. I will do anything for Cora.”

Cora reached a hand through the open divider and gently squeezed Han-Irinov’s right breast. Han-Irinov shivered. Of her own hands, one was on the wheel, the other was once again between her legs. Her pants and underpants were pulled down to her thighs. The groundcar’s seat under her bare ass was wet.

“I love Cora,” she repeated. “Cora is my lover. I love Cora. I trust Cora.”

She crooked a finger inside herself and moaned.

“I will do anything for Cora.”

“I will obey Doctor Vanderbruk.”

“I will obey Doctor Vanderbruk.”

Cruzado-Liu stared out the windshield at Han-Irinov’s groundcar, and did not hear Junipero obediently repeating the commands that Vanderbruk was feeding her.

“I will do anything Doctor Vanderbruk tells me to,” Vanderbruk said.

“I will do anything Doctor Vanderbruk tells me to,” Junipero repeated. Her eyes were open now, wide and blank.

“Very good, Liqin. You are an excellent subject, eager and responsive. Now we will do some even deeper programming. For that I will need to adjust your chemistry some more. Will you do what I tell you to do, Liqin?”

“I will do anything you tell me to,” Junipero intoned.

“Yes, you will. I want you to turn your head now, kiss me, and then swallow.”

Liqin turned her head and her mouth met Doctor Vanderbruk’s. Vanderbruk’s tongue slipped between Liqin’s lips, spreading them. Warm, sticky liquid squirted into Liqin’s mouth.

Liqin swallowed.

Cruzado-Liu blinked, and paid no attention at all. “I trust Doctor Emilee Vanderbruk...” she intoned.