Perverse Instantiation Ch. 03

"Better that than monsters," Layla said, before turning her attention back to the scrolling code appearing on her computer as Nixie hacked her way through the lab's entry protocols. "Nix, can you open the door just long enough for us to get through, and then lock it behind us? I don't want the freaks wandering in."

"Sure thing. Door's ready on your mark, Layla."

Layla looked towards her companion, and Shae just offered a nod. With a steadying breath, Layla spoke. "Go."

The locking indicator cycled and then abruptly disappeared, the door retracting to the ceiling. Immediately, two blue-hued shields flickered to life around the pair as the ceiling-mounted turrets opened fire from farther down the revealed hallway. As they hurried inside under the hail of fire, Nixie shut the door behind them, blocking out the many terrors that were undoubtedly making their way to the noisy orbital ring.

At least, almost all of them. As Layla's feet left the splattered goo on the inside of the alcove, a small glob stuck to her heel, tenaciously holding to her suit as the scavenger rushed into the lab. As its human transport took an abrupt knee and began to return fire at the turrets draining her shields, the little glob thinned, spreading itself over her heel and ankle. When it was just barely thicker than the soft-suit that it clung to, it stilled, somewhat sure that its presence would remain unnoticed.

And it was right. With alternating volleys of plasma and pulse fire, Layla and Shae easily dispatched the unshielded turrets, the anti-personal emplacements unable to pierce their shields quickly enough. Layla stood, her lithe form colored by the sickly red emergency lighting of the short hallway. It was a stark contrast to the bright white light filling every other section of the station so far, and lent a rather eerie air to this new lab. Unknown to Layla, it also hid the pink passenger on her boot from obvious view.

"Primary power is offline," Shae muttered as she peered into the shadows of the open doorway a few meters away. "But my sensors aren't showing any movement in there."

"Mine either." Layla confirmed, her tight grip on her carbine easing. She stepped up to the opening, the slagged remains of the two turrets dripping slowly to the floor on either side of her. Under the red lighting, she could make out a wide space, what seemed like the entire station spoke one long open-concept area. Shadowed workstations, terminals, and shelves littered the space, alongside what looked like industrial equipment for manufacturing: advanced fabricators effectively. "Seems abandoned. But either way, it's creeping me the fuck out. Let's find a power terminal or something."

It didn't take them particularly long. After a few minutes of tense searching, Shae found a dormant maintenance terminal in the nearby corner of the lab. With a few typed commands, the lab began to hum as it returned to life. White lights flickered on above them, and the manufacturing equipment surrounding them began to creak as their systems ran through programmed diagnostics. Aside from this newfound hum of activity, however, the lab remained relatively quiet, and decidedly empty of anyone or anything else. At least, to Layla's eyes. The goo took the sudden threat to its concealment as its opportunity to escape, quickly slipping from the back of Layla's boot to squeeze under a nearby desk while the two humans were distracted.

"Looks like we made the right call on this one," Layla spoke after taking in the space. Pulling up Shae's map on her HUD, she located the exit from the lab further down its length, where the spokes of the station connected in a small passage. "We should be safe to look around before headin' to the Military lab. Shout if you see something that looks valuable, okay?"

Shae offered a hum of confirmation as she holstered her pistols. "It is probably for the best that we remain together. And besides, I thought you had already found your 'big score'?" She was of course referring to the Draconid data. Or perhaps the military gear back in the security hub.

Layla chuckled. "You're greatly underestimatin' both the size of my debts and my capacity for outrageous greed. I'm not leaving this place until the Yak is filled to burstin' with salvage."

"Or until Prime returns and kills us for looting their station,"

"That too."

Layla turned her eye to the equipment around them. This corner of the lab seemed to be dedicated to those large fabricators, their bulbous frames connected to the ceiling of the lab, with spindly arms resting over an assembly line. Spying a terminal connected to the machines, Layla walked over, mindful of the useless state of her soft-suit at the moment. Its fabrication specs were loaded to her computer, so as long as she found a machine with the right settings and enough synth-stock, she should be able to make the needed repairs. She set down her weapons to the side of desk along with her pack.

Pulling up the fabricators' supply function, Layla's brow furrowed as she read over the loaded stock. "The fuck is polysiloxane?" She selected the 'resupply' function from the menu, and jumped as a grinding noise emerged from the machines to her right. Stepping back and looking towards the source, her eyebrows rose as a section of the floor right up against the lab walls retracted swiftly, revealing a hidden vat of bubbling liquid.

As she stepped closer, Nixie's avatar appeared beside her emitter. "Polysiloxane is a polymer of siloxane, conventionally known as silicone. It has a wide range of industrial uses, stretching back centuries, though most commonly..."

"Thanks, dictionary-bot," Layla interrupted, "but I don't need its backstory." She eyed the bubbling vat of black, viscous liquid speculatively. "Any chance I can use it to patch my suit?"

"Only if you really want to depressurize the next time you're in a vacuum. I certainly support your decision."

"You could just say no, Nix."

"You know me better than that, fleshbag."

Layla grumbled as she turned away from the useless fabricators. "What kind of backwards company doesn't just use synth-stock? You can made anything out of that shit." She heard a suppressed laugh over her comms, and twisted to find that Shae had wandered off after all, given that the corpo was nowhere in sight. Not for long, however.

Waltzing out from behind a series of storage shelves, Shae wielded a long tube in her hands, the odd object bouncing with her steps. She was grinning cheekily as she approached Layla with her prize. "But Prime wasn't making just anything. I think they wanted quality for their best products." With that, she tossed the tube to Layla, which she instinctively caught. And then immediately dropped as she realized what it was.

Flopping on the floor was an absolutely mammoth dildo, its black length lined with realistic veins and a blunt, flared head. Layla looked up at Shae in outrage, "Did you just throw a fuckin' horsecock at me?"

The fox-girl just chuckled, leaning up against the side of the shelves. "Maybe. I'm more interested in learning how you knew the dildo was modeled after a horse."

Layla's cheeks heated as she stared daggers at the amused girl. "Absolutely none of your business!"

Nixie appeared, leaning conspiringly towards Shae as she faux-whispered. "She's got three just like it stashed in her room on the Yak."

"Not another word, you programmin' error!"

Shae laughed at Layla's outburst. "I had no idea you were such a connoisseur of sex toys, Layla." She indicated behind her. "There's quite an array of them stashed back here. Perhaps you might be interested in a different kind of loot, hmm?"

Layla scowled back at her. "You're just as bad as Nix." Stalking forward, she found that the gene-mod was telling the truth. Stacked in neat rows were dozens of toys, most seemingly made from the black silicone of the industrial fabricators. They came in every shape and size: vibrators, strap-ons, and dildos in great variety. Despite the intense flaming of her face, Layla marked a few choice toys down in her mind. Her personal collection was large, but by no means complete. She could always come back later when nosy corpos weren't looking over her shoulder.

"Third row, six from the left," Shae added knowingly when Layla's attention turned back to the shelves. Reluctantly following the girl's direction, she felt her mortification grow ever greater at the sight of the bright red, knotted dildo. "Just in case I'm not around when you need me."

Turning to the Shae's smirking expression, she darkly amended her thoughts. These toys wouldn't be going into her collection. At least, not until they'd been tested extensively on bratty corpo sluts. It would only be prudent, after all. "If your next words aren't the location of some Void-damned synth-stock, that cock is going right up your ass, princess."

Shae removed her helmet and shook out her hair, offering her best puppy-dog eyes once her face wasn't behind her visor. "Promise?"

The scavver just glared.

"Second shelf on your left, I saw a container while I was poking about. But I'm holding you to your little threat, Layla. I know you are woman of your word." Shae offered sweetly, before turning to walk away, suited ass swaying far more than necessary.

Layla hated that the fox-girl could sound both teasing and earnest at the same time. It did something to her core that was entirely unwarranted at a time like this. Not to mention enflaming the dying embers of aphrodisiac still in her system. Grumbling to herself, she located the indicated container, hefting the half-consumed block of synth-stock from its position at the back of the storage shelf. As she awkwardly carried the weighty raw material back to the fabricator, she spoke up as a thought occurred to her. "I think I'm willin' to hazard a guess at why Prime built this station."

Shae had hopped up onto the assembly line between fabricators, kicking her feet casually as she watched Layla stagger towards her. "Oh? And what would that be?"

"Lusty goo-girls that fuck you to death," she started, throwing the block up onto the assembly line and heading back to the terminal, "reptilian gene-muties meant to be used as sex proxies and media whores. A lab with fabricators dedicated to pumpin' out premium dildos. Sex-bots wandering the halls." She switched the feed to the fabricator from the vat of silicone to the standard synth-stock, and shoved the block into a recess on the machine as it opened to her command. "Oh, and an evil A.I. overlord named Temptress. This station is all about commodifyin' and weaponizin' sexual pleasure."

Shae let out a hum of agreement, white ears twitching. "A distinct possibility."

Layla paused, noting the odd tone in the fox-girl's voice. "What...did you know? Are you hidin' shit from me, corpo?"

"The secrets between the two of us could fill the Void itself, I imagine," Shae responded cryptically, and Layla tensed as the suspicions that had so recently been suppressed reared their ugly head once more. But something in Shae's piercing, silvery stare stopped her. The fox-girl smiled, prominent canines on full display. "But that just keeps things interesting. I didn't know, but I had my own suspicions since my first encounter with one of these goo-girls. Why else would they possibly exist if not to experiment with human sexuality and pleasure? This lab only supports the theory. It would follow that the sub-sections of the station all seek to explore a different facet of this company directive."

Layla eyed Shae for a few seconds longer before shrugging with a grunt. "Fair enough. Guess I'm just slow on the uptake, then." As the fabricator chimed its acceptance of her loaded soft-suit specs, she unsealed her own helmet, placing it on the console in front of her and beginning to zip off the torn remains of her suit.

"There are many words I'd use to describe you," Shae said, moving quickly from her perch to stand behind Layla. Her small hands insistently replaced Layla's and began to carefully peel the scavver out of her soft-suit. Surprised, but by no means upset by the assistance, Layla let her. "But slow is not one of them. Pragmatic and methodical, absolutely." Shae helped her arms through the torn sleeves and tugged the suit down to her waist. "You must examine and reexamine everything before you are certain of it, but always driven by a gut feeling that rarely fails you. It is an admirable trait."

"You really don't need to stroke my ego and undress me. You're gonna to make me all vain and pompous like some fancy corpcog."

As Layla looked down at Shae's kneeling form, the girl flashed her a smile before caressing her thigh lightly. "But I want to."

Layla rolled her eyes at the response but couldn't stop her lips from curling upwards. "Far be it from me to stop you then..."

Shae pulled off the rest of the ruined garment, leaving her in just her gray, spartan undergarments. Or, at least, what was left at them. Layla's smile turned into a frown as she picked frustratingly at the massive holes in the cups of her bra where the goo's tentacles had sought out her nipples during the attack. With a sigh, she just unhooked the garment and tossed it. She barely needed it anyway.

Shae straightened up, holding the discarded soft-suit in her arms. Her eyes sparkled as she took in Layla's near-nude body. "Welcome to the no-bra society, Layla. We have much more fun."

"Yeah, yeah, melon tits. Won't be so much fun when you gotta get surgery for your back problems in a decade."

Shae tsk'd, loading the soft-suit into the fabricator and activating it for repair. "I'll have you know, my suit offers wonderful support. And besides," she stepped close to Layla and pressed her chest against hers, "I think they're more than worth the trouble."

Layla's breath caught as the overfull breast of the girl's soft-suit rubbed deliciously against the small mounds of her tits. Shae's gorgeous face looked expectantly up at hers, and she knew exactly what she wanted. The corpo had been teasing and flirting ever since they woke up, and now that they'd need to wait for her suit to be repaired...she was inclined to finally acquiesce. She was barely fighting the fire that was burning between her legs anymore, and had a willing woman practically begging to be the one to sate it. The only excuse left to Layla was the persistent ache she still felt between her thighs, but they could have a little fun without a full repeat of the night before. Finally allowing a lustful smile to break out on her face, she tilted her head down to seize the gene-mod's perfect lips in her own.

And, of course, that's when the goo-girl struck.

Surging out from beneath the terminal station, the small glob of neon pink rapidly increased in size as its nanobots replicated more of its odd liquid body, filling out into a slim female form within a second. Unlike its previous incarnation, however, this goo had a plan in mind that didn't involve mindlessly chasing after her prey. Instead, she leapt on top of Layla's pile of discarded gear. With a slurp, her maul was sucked up into the goo's body.

Both Layla and Shae had jumped as the creature appeared suddenly, putting a short distance between them and the ambushing goo. Shae's pistols were out in a flash, the fox-girl's lust quickly shifting to calm focus as she peppered the monster with pulse blasts. Layla, armed only with a threadbare pair of panties, was considerably less composed.

"The fuck did you come from?" Layla gasped as the goo winced under Shae's attacks. Despite their close proximity, her slim form was managing to dodge many of her shots, her liquid body dissolving and reforming at random to avoid the disruptive energy. The scavver looked despairingly at the dark metal of her maul floating harmlessly within the oscillating liquid.

"No more zapping!" the goo-girl yelled. Her body collapsed on itself and the pink ooze rushed towards them in a small wave. Layla and Shae dived in opposite directions, and the goo's flood barely missed their bodies, reforming near the shelf of toys. She did not look happy. "You made my sisters go to sleep! We just wanted to play," The creature whined. She extended a slim arm, and the limb shot forth with a burst of goo, plastering the wall that Shae had been sprawled against after her dive.

Shae rolled away from the pillar of slime, shocking the monster with a burst of fire that it didn't manage to dodge in time. Without taking her eyes off of the creature, she called out, "Can you activate the maul remotely?"

Layla, who had landed close to the hidden vat in the corner, scoffed. "With what, my telekinesis?" She made to run for the maintenance terminal in search of something to shock the creature, but another goo-blast sent her into cover behind one of the fabricators. Eyes peering over the assembly line, still dutifully repairing her soft-suit, her mind searched for any possibility to disable the goo as Shae expertly dodged the creature's attacks and harried it with her weaponry. Maybe she could break open one of the fabricators, find a live wire? Or perhaps there was a light fixture that could be rigged...as her eyes scanned this near-empty corner of the lab, her gaze caught back on the fabricator terminal. Another remarkably stupid idea popped into her head.

She hurried over to the corner, just passed the end of the fabrication line. She raised her hands to her mouth as she shouted. "Shae! The fabricator console! I think it needs a refill of the good stuff!"

To her credit, Shae's expression was only confused for a second as she turned her head towards Layla. Her eyes flicked between where Layla was standing and the console, and understanding came to her. The fox-girl smiled viciously. Firing another burst into the goo-girl still pursuing her, she cut and sprinted for the console.

When the monster went to chase her, Layla called out again. "Over here, goo-slut!" She turned around, spreading her legs lewdly as she smacked her ass. "You've gotten a taste, how about you finish the job? I barely felt you last time!"

Whatever shift in intelligence the goo had undergone since it had been electrocuted was clearly not enough to avoid the obvious bait. With shining greed in her pink eyes, the monster altered course, heading straight for Layla's vulnerable position. The scavver held her pose as long as she could, until she saw Shae practically crash into the fabrication console and quickly access its controls. The goo was nearly on top of her when Layla altered her wide-legged stance, bunching her muscles as she yelled, "Now!"

She leapt as high as she could towards the nearby machinery just as the goo-girl lurched towards her. Her hands frantically caught at the upper lip of the fabricator and she pulled her legs far off the ground as the goo's liquid body awkwardly slammed into the corner. At just the right moment, Shae activated the materials control key, and the small square of floor paneling slid into the wall with a hiss, revealing the bubbling vat of liquid silicone.

The goo yelped as the rapid movement of the floor beneath her sent her semi-corporal body rolling. Though the oozing soles of her feet remained stuck to the panel, its momentum pitched her upper body forward, and she fell towards the revealed liquid beneath her. Whatever intelligence powered the creature seemed to realize the sudden danger before she was submerged, and her mass quickly started to redistribute towards where her feet remained stuck to the wall. It was too little, too late, however. With a final cry, her head and torso sunk into the boiling liquid.

Layla watched with bated breath, hoping that this wouldn't be an embarrassing (and possibly deadly) repeat of her stunt with the swimming pool the day before. To her relief, however, once the goo went under, her upper body was entirely encased in the silicone. She watched the still-struggling pink calves and feet slowly go limp before they lost their form, falling as slime into the vat to join the rest of the goo's submerged body. Layla shimmied as best she could around the lip of the machinery, legs dangling precariously over the bubbling material below. She maneuvered herself around the edge and dropped shakily down to the floor.