Panopticon

That wasn't easy to do without the use of my hands, so Earl helped me get into position. I felt a cool liquid and fingers entering my pussy for a very thorough examination.

"You're quite loose there. Are you in the business?"

"Not full-time. It's been more like a hobby these last few years."

She chuckled. "You're the first prostitute I've seen who could afford rejuvenation. You got the looks, but I wouldn't have pegged you as that expensive. No offense."

"None taken. I got rejuvenated for other services."

I had never been a high-priced whore. Cocktail dresses and fancy restaurants weren't my thing, but put a few dozen horny cargo haulers in front of me and I'll feel right at home.

"Nothing there, Earl. Now for the final check."

She pushed a lubed finger into my asshole. There wasn't a lot of resistance, so she added more fingers until her whole hand had disappeared.

"Gods! Look at that, Earl."

Without much effort, she moved her hand in and out of my ass. Truth be told, with some warmup I could have taken Earl's massive paw without too much discomfort. I was definitely due for another tightening.

"Did they forget your bottom at rejuvenation?"

"What do you want me to say? I usually work the lower decks, I get a lot of traffic."

"That gape, with no preparation at all! Girl, that is not normal."

"What? I really like it in the ass."

"I can tell. But since you're here and don't have anything else to do, clench your sphincter muscles as often as you can, a thousand times a day. You should get some muscle tone back."

"Alright, alright. Is there a chance you're gonna eat me out or are we done here? I'm starting to feel like a sock puppet."

She pulled her hand out.

"Yes, all good. Earl, you can take the cuffs off."

They left the cell and pushed the door shut. I was just about to head to the toilet to squeeze the excess lube out of my bottom holes, when I saw Chatham tap the yellow circle on the door.

I cursed. The red circles were flashing again and I rushed to assume my position.

"I'm going to make my rounds. While you're standing there with nothing else to do, squeeze those sphincter muscles. You need it."

Then she left me there in my spread open pose, fuming. What a bitch.

When the red circles went out after what felt like half an hour, I knew that Nurse Chatham had left the courtyard. I collapsed on my mattress and fell asleep a few minutes later.

I hadn't squeezed any muscles.

Neighbors

When I came to, it was already morning and a ration bar was lying on the floor. I took a cautious bite and it didn't taste like anything, which was actually an improvement over the military field rations I remembered from way back.

After washing up, I decided it was time to introduce myself. So far, everyone had left me in peace -- which was good, nobody likes nosy neighbors -- especially when all the walls are made of glass. The only ones who were constantly staring were the visitors on the outside -- no wonder that this place was called the zoo.

My neighbor on the left was a woman in her forties. She had her hands cuffed behind her back, the cuffs attached to the collar chain, high enough so that her fingertips couldn't touch her buttocks.

"Hey, I'm Cassidy," I said, but she didn't acknowledge me.

"What happened there, why the cuffs?"

"Mind your own business. I don't talk to filth like you."

Now that went well.

"Filth, huh. At least I can wipe my own ass."

My right-hand neighbor from cell sixteen laughed out loud.

"That's Zephyra. Her husband left her for a working girl a couple years ago," he said. "While she was already locked up here."

"I see. And now she doesn't want whores in the neighborhood. Sorry, sister! I'll move out as soon as I find a better place."

She grunted and turned away.

"I'm Owen, by the way. Pleased to meet you."

"Hello, Owen. I'm Cassidy."

He was in his late thirties, tall, with brown hair that was already receding and a boyish smile that made me like him instantly.

"So, Cassidy, how are you adjusting to life in the zoo?"

I shrugged. "It's as good a place as any to do my time."

"Not your first rodeo, I take it?"

"First one on this planet," I said. "You?"

"First time. Three years down, nine to go. How long will you be joining us?"

"Just passing through. Four years."

"Shit, I'm jealous."

I pointed at my cranky neighbor and whispered, "Why the cuffs? Is she the ... shitty artist that Earl talked about?"

Owen chuckled.

"No, that was the sophisticated lady in number eight. A realtor or lawyer, as far as I know. Acted all high and mighty when she joined us, everyone had to turn around when she was taking a dump."

"Don't worry, I'm not sophisticated."

"Me neither, I'm a simple farm boy."

"Oh? I had a brief brush with farming," I said and pointed to my slave tattoo. "Did a two-year stint digging up Segaya roots."

"Gods, that sucks. We don't grow it here, it's back-breaking work, you can't really automate it. Only works with cheap labor."

"Penal slavery, it doesn't get any cheaper. The only one who's getting paid is the asshole with the whip."

"I heard about it, conditions must be horrible."

"You're little more than an animal. After a few weeks you're so numb to everything that you piss and shit where you stand. So no, you don't have to turn around for me."

"Then this place is basically a spa for you."

"It could be worse, I guess. I've got food, water, and a clean place to sleep. But you still haven't told me why she's wearing the cuffs? What did she do, piss off the guards? Anything I need to be careful about?"

"No, no, it's medical, the number one skin condition here. She rubbed herself raw wanking and now she's on a timeout for a few days to let it heal. It's kind of like those dog cones when you think about it."

I laughed.

"Speaking of lady bits, nice jewelry you got there."

"Thanks," I said and traced my fingers over my labia rings. "Courtesy of my boss, he's really into that stuff. Especially the permanent kind. For every year of my contract I get a new ring."

I stood still to let him count.

"Twelve years?"

"Nine. Only the labia ones count the years. Clit and nipples have nothing to do with it. Those are for stimulation."

"And that feels nice? Sorry to ask, I'm a farm boy and piercings aren't very common around here."

I laughed. "Hell no. There's a bit of electronics inside, when you pull on them, it triggers a shock."

He looked at me with a blank face.

"They're for attaching a leash," I said and turned the clit ring to make it point up. "I got them because I didn't follow orders and screwed up a mission. The ones in the nipples are harmless, but it's a bad idea to tug on the clit leash when I have a full bladder. He paraded me around for a couple of weeks until he grew tired of it."

It was amusing to watch how he tried and failed to avoid a very typical male reaction.

"Now you're imagining me on a leash?" I asked with my sweetest smile. "Leading me around and showing me off to your friends? Making me get down on my knees ..."

"Dammit, girl. You sure know how to get a guy hot and bothered."

"Just making conversation," I said, innocently. "By the way, that's a nice dick you got there, a real shame I can't sit on it."

He kept standing there to let me admire it.

"Are you always such a tease? You get off on giving us blue balls?"

"No, I'm not like that, quite the contrary. I'm happy to help a neighbor out. Do what you gotta do."

"You're sure you don't mind? Even here it's considered rude jacking off to a girl. But since you gave permission..."

"I'm not sophisticated, remember. And I could use some relief myself, so let's get there together, okay? You just have to choose how you want me. Against the glass? On the floor? Bent over?"

After three years in this place without a real fuck I figured he deserved a treat.

"The glass, please. Oh god, you're so fucking hot."

I pressed my boobs flat against the wall that separated our cells and spread my legs wide. While he was beating his dick, I frantically fucked myself with two fingers.

It didn't take long for either of us.

"I really needed a good squirt," I said, licking the juice from my fingers. "Let's do that again sometime. You know where to find me."

He sat back down, breathing heavily.

"Wanna marry me, Cassidy?"

"Would it have to be an exclusive thing? I'm not ready to settle down just yet."

"Of course not. You could keep your own place."

I laughed. "Ask me again tomorrow."

Family Affairs

Especially on a Saturday, the park was full of visitors, many of them sitting outside the cells in the grass. There were lots of hiked up skirts and pulled down tops as girlfriends and wives came to see their locked up guys.

Guards were patrolling the park to make sure things didn't get out of control.

"Visitor for seventeen," announced the robotic voice.

Who could that be, I thought, and rushed to take my position at the cell door.

It was a man, early thirties, with a red coin in his hand. I had seen his picture in the operation's file, it was Tristan, the son of my mark and one of my registered victims. He looked around the courtyard and seemed uneasy -- which made two of us. I had no qualms with snatching his criminal father, but things that affected innocent people were always weighing on my conscience.

I wasn't hard to find, he walked in front of my cell and immediately tapped the green circle to release me.

"Hello," he said, staring into the distance through my cell windows without making eye contact. "Do you know who I am?"

"I do."

"Are you willing to talk to me?"

"Yes."

Half a minute passed without either of us saying a word.

"Could you ... could you please cover yourself. I want to have a conversation and this," he waved his hand, "is making me uncomfortable."

"That's a bit difficult," I said.

After pondering for a moment, I sat down on the floor and pulled my legs to my chin.

"I think this is as good as it gets," I said.

He sat down in front of me.

"Thank you."

Another long pause.

"You're not going to use that token?" I asked, because he had been staring at it these last few minutes.

"That's why you agreed to talk to me, because I have this stupid thing?"

"No," I said, "but anyone who says it doesn't scare them is lying. If you're going to use it, use it now. I'll talk to you afterwards, I promise."

"It seems barbaric to me. There's people who actually do this?"

"Yes."

"Honestly, I don't even know how it works. I read that I had to tap the green circle so that you're allowed to speak and that's it."

"You hold it against the glass. It's easy."

"They did that to you? Is it bad?"

"Not here, but I've experienced it before. It's neural discipline, it feels like being burned alive. If you want to see someone screaming on the floor, pissing all over themselves, now's your chance."

"Gods."

"I'll live," I said and smiled at him. "I think the idea is that it'll make you feel better."

"I doubt it would. That's revenge rather than justice."

He put the token in his back pocket.

"You're not what I expected," he said.

"What did you expect?"

"I don't know. A hardened criminal."

"Looks can be deceiving. Maybe if you saw me in my work outfit. Blaster on the hip, blade in my boot ..."

"So when you're out of here, you will get back to it?"

"I'm part of an organization, I have commitments. Like your father, by the way. And don't think that I'm a victim somehow, my decisions are my own."

He stared into the void again.

"Look, I have no illusions about my father. He's been a crook all his life and he probably caused this whole ... situation. We haven't talked in years, but I'm still his son and I don't want him dead. Do you know where he is? Is he alive?"

I took a deep breath.

"No idea. My job was to retrieve some of what he owed including the shuttle that I crashed with. There was another team that was supposed to get him and take him off-planet. I assume that part of the plan worked."

It was the truth, just not the full story. I had been the one in charge of the operation and most of it went down without a hitch. If Martinez hadn't been called away at the last minute, I never would have had to pilot that shuttle.

"So they didn't kill him? What are they going to do to him then?"

"That's anyone's guess, I don't know. He made a deal with the devil, that's for sure. And he didn't respect the deal he made. Honestly, I wouldn't expect him to survive, but stranger things have happened."

He nodded and closed his eyes for a moment.

"What about my mother? She's got nothing to do with his business, all she ever did was spend the money. And now she'll have to sell the company and the house and it won't even be enough for the other creditors."

"Your mother was never a target."

"She didn't take it well, she wanted to come here. But there were ... people at her house last week. They warned her to leave you alone. Is she safe?"

Finally some good news, I thought. My guys must have found out that I was alive and now they were setting up protection so I could do my time in peace.

"Don't worry about it," I said. "If those people were from my organization -- and I'm not saying they were -- then they know that I wouldn't appreciate violence on my behalf. So how is she doing?"

"Her entire life collapsed overnight, she didn't take it well. Three weeks ago she was wealthy and now she's destitute."

"You know that it was all built on dirty money."

"That's what I assumed."

He scratched his head and cleared his throat.

"What about you, will you be okay?" I asked. "You had a job, right? I forgot what it was."

"I'm a teacher and I've got my own family. I'll be fine."

He stared into the distance again, then he got up from the floor.

"Thank you for talking to me," he said. "I got to go, best of luck to you."

With that he turned around and left the courtyard. I got up and watched him walk through the park until he disappeared in the distance.

"So you were the one who crashed that shuttle?" asked Owen while I was squatting over the toilet, still lost in thought. There were groups of people outside on the grass watching, but I ignored them -- it wasn't my fault that the walls were transparent and some things were just too urgent to put off.

"Yes, that was me," I said and soaped up my hands to wipe my butt. "First time I ever crashed anything. But what am I supposed to do if two fuel injectors fail at the same time? I dropped six thousand meters before I got one of them back online."

"Both injectors? Failing at once? Shit, how likely is that?"

"It gets more likely if you don't do proper maintenance," I said and turned around, spreading my butt cheeks. "Clean?"

"On the left."

I scrubbed the left side with some more soap and let him take another look.

"All clean," he said. "I hope that didn't get you in trouble, losing that transport. Must have been a lot of cargo from what I heard."

"The big guy couldn't care less about that old bucket, the whole op was about making a statement. He's probably not happy that I got caught though."

"You're talking about Big George, right? The bogeyman? Don't tell me you know him personally."

It was amazing how fast information spread in a prison.

"I'm a small fish, but our paths have crossed from time to time. One of his ex-wives is a good friend of mine."

"Wow," he said. "And there's nothing he can do for you?"

"Not really. This isn't some outer rim planet where you could spring someone from prison, so I'll have to sit tight and serve my time. Which is fine, I'm still being paid. The only thing that really sucks is that token bullshit."

"I wouldn't worry too much about it. Victims usually lose interest after a while and it's very rare that someone from the general public spends money on you."

"No sadistic bastards who get off on it?"

"There are some, sure, but these tokens are way too expensive for playing around."

Visitors

It was a Sunday afternoon and I was taking a little nap when Owen knocked on our shared wall.

"Cassie, I think you've got visitors."

"Sorry to wake you," said Loreena. She was standing at the outer wall with two other girls. They seemed a little shy and stared at the floor, probably on account of all the naked people in glass cages.

I sat up and pulled my knees to my chin.

"Don't worry, there's plenty of time to sleep."

"How are you holding up, Cassidy? Are you settling in okay?"

"I'm fine, it's not a bad place as far as prisons go. Still getting used to that stupid chain. I swear, when I stand up it feels like there's ten kilos pulling on my neck."

"It's for security. Nobody ever-"

"... escaped from here, I know. It's heavier than what I'm used to, but I get why it's done, all good."

She smiled.

"Then I'm glad. This place can be a bit ... much for some."

"So, I can see you brought friends."

"Yes. Cassidy, meet Lisa and Vicky, they are my best friends from school."

Lisa was a cute, curvy blonde in a white and blue summer dress, while Vicky wore shorts and a t-shirt. She was taller, had short black hair and a white cap on her head.

"Are you really a pirate?" asked Vicky after a few seconds of silence.

"That's what they pinched me for at least. Most of the time I work as a pilot, but I've been a soldier, cook, whore, mercenary, and a few other things."

The girls stood there and seemed impressed. This planet was not exactly the center of the universe, seeing a jailed pirate was probably the most interesting thing you could do on a Sunday afternoon.

"So what brings you here, girls?"

"We thought Loreena was shitting us, we wanted to see for ourselves," said Vicky. "Nothing exciting ever happens around here, so we thought she made it up."

"No, it's true, I said. "Convicted for piracy, four years in prison. I guess that makes me a pirate, at least on paper."

"And she put you here? All by herself?"

I laughed.

"Yes, she took me here from court. All by herself. Chained me up pretty good for the transfer, it was very professional. Tight enough so that I couldn't get out, but not so tight that it hurt. I definitely recommend the service."

Loreena blushed while the two others giggled.

"I was super nervous," said Loreena. "It was my first time with the high security cuffs since training."

"High security cuffs?" asked Lisa. She looked a little flushed.

"Yeah," said Loreena. "That's not like the cuffs they used on Vicky at the mall. It's a chain with special handcuffs attached. The chain goes around your waist and it's locked in the back so you can't reach it. There's leg irons of course and another chain that runs from the leg irons to the belly chain."

"Whoa." Lisa seemed especially interested. "And you're completely helpless? You can only take tiny steps?"

I was amused. While Vicky was looking around, checking out the guys, cute little Lisa was into this. Big time.

"Completely helpless," I confirmed. "You can take small steps, but you won't get anywhere fast. It's more shuffling than walking. Steal a ship and you'll get to try it."

"We also have gags and masks if someone misbehaves," said Loreena. "but I never had to use them on anyone. My sergeant handles those cases."

"Ohhh, she's creaming her panties," said Vicky and grinned. "Can you smell it, Lori?"

Lisa buried her beet red face in her hands.

"Gods, this is so embarrassing. My ex and I used to play with rope, but it's not the same. The chains and the cuffs... Gods ... I'm sorry, Cassidy, I know for you it's not a game."

"Hey, it's nothing to feel embarrassed about," I said. "Never apologize for the things that turn you on."

Loreena gave her a reassuring hug.