Taken as a Knight, Trained as a Pet

Asha's azure blue eyes sparkled in the darkness, feeling the rumbling and vibrations of massive cargo ships rolling through her smaller form as the youthful knight of Voin pressed herself against the nearby pillar, hiding. The huge space haulers kept coming and going from the industrial trading port where this was all going down, Masking the sound of the conversation the two criminals below her were engaged in. But that was no impediment for Asha, who merely summoned some of her hidden might, the mystic power of Voin, into her eyes, allowing her to see them more closely and clearly, and, vitally, to read their lips.

"Well, let's pick up the pace. Your credits are transferred," Said the first man, a criminal dressed as one of the hauling crew managers who worked for this port, bright yellow hard hat strapped on, orange vest draped over a round belly, and thick, hairy arms protruding from rolled up sleeves.

Perhaps he was an actual haul crew manager, or maybe just an imposter, but it did not matter to Asha, who smirked silently in her shadows, edging a little closer to the ledge which overlooked where the two men stood. As a newly graduated knight of Voin, her only concern was that evildoers be caught and punished before their reckless, selfish actions could bring harm to others, and these two were planning a lot of harm. The man across from the first whistled and rubbed his hand over the wooden crates which sat between them, all four of which rested on a hovering crate sled which warbled as it waited.

"Four crates of Tenma root powder, fresh from the ground. You have any idea what I could do with all this?" The smuggler asked, looking terribly pleased with himself and his purchase.

The other man shook his head, equal parts bemused and impatient with the smuggler's antics.

"Everyone knows what you can do with that much T-root. Now, do you expect me to haul this into your ship for you or something? Go get this away before someone notices. The Knights of Voin have been snooping around lately. Magic freaks, unstable from whatever radiation gives them their so-called powers, you know? As likely to chop you up with their swords as they are to arrest you." The crew manager said.

"Oh I know all about them." Said the smuggler, speaking just as Asha reached the ledge.

She reached down with her her small hands, seizing the blade handle at her waist, silently drawing out the dully blue metal of her Voin blade. She breathed in, opening herself to that mystic force, and allowing it to fill and strengthen her legs.

"They being around is the reason that I chose to overpay you for four crates of this stuff. I mean, don't get me wrong, you can never have enough T-root, but my real delivery hasn't quite arrived yet." Said the smuggler.

"What in the name of the dark moons is that supposed to mea-" The other began to say, face twisting in confusion at the odd statement made by the other criminal.

Did this freak WANT to get caught?! The answer came a moment later, interrupting him mid sentence as a lithe form flew up from the ledge she had been standing on above them, landing right in the center of the two of them atop the crates. The hovering hauler sled bounced a little, not even tapping the ground, but despite how light she was, Asha's entrance had the effect she wanted on at least one of them.

The criminal crew manager cried out in a sudden mix of raw shock and deepening dread as he saw and recognized the distinctive sword of a Voin knight, a black blade with a single, branching vein of color running down its length, in this case, a chilling, almost luminous blue. The other criminal however, the smug smuggler, only took a couple steps back, his expression growing in delight, his grin growing into a full smile.

"You two are under arrest for the smuggling of illegal narcotics!" She announced triumphantly, rising from her crouch like a confident predator.

Under normal circumstances, the scene would have been ridiculous. Asha, Knight though she was, barely reaching past 1.6 meters (Five Foot Five Inches), and was of the Tungine species, which trended towards being smaller and slimmer than the two humans she stood between, her species having developed on a lower gravity planet than the old earth was. Her heated orange skin was easy to see, as were the distinctive hollow horns which sprouted out from her head, and the cascade of red hair that followed, reaching all the way down to the backs of her knees.

Her kind were known for their aesthetic quality and natural grace, but not for their strength or general fighting ability. On top of that, both men appeared far better armed than the alien girl who was confronting them, with the crew manager having a thickly built slug puncher at his waist, and the smuggler boasting a sleek laser lancer in the small holster on the side of his leg, whereas Asha only had her oddly bright, black sword. The manager reached down and snatched out his firearm, holding it out towards her, blinking less than a second later, watching without understanding as his gun was shattered into pieces.

Asha had moved as quickly as any mundane man might think, whipping her sword around her and swiping the black blade through the gun the very instant it faced her, using the powers of Voin to swell her speed and strength to an unnatural level. The man cried out and clutched his hand, some of the gun fragments lodging themselves there.

"Surrender peacefully or be brought in, in pieces." She warned, standing tall on the crates and aiming her sword down towards the Crew manager, face lit up by a victorious smile.

But the terrified manager had managed to keep her attention for long enough for the smuggler to proceed to the next part of his plan. A pin on his jacket seemed to explode in a burst of steam and smoke, a wide, silver net extending out, yawning wide open as Asha turned to look. The power within her gave her warning, and with enhanced strength she kicked off from the crates, flipping back through the air as the net pursued. Asha tossed herself to the left of the wide reaching trap, and was stunned when it altered its course to follow her.

Suddenly desperate, Asha struck out with her weapon, slashing across the enclosing net, her black blade parting the silver threads easily. And yet she was surprised a third time as the sliced threads conjoined and mended the very instant her blade had passed through them.

"A Nano-Net!" She thought to herself in a panic, recognizing too late one of the most elusive weapons in the galaxy!

Asha could only grunt as the net smacked into her, entwining her body instantly and intelligently among a sudden storm of unbreaking threads of metal. The youthful knight fell heavily onto the hard ground beside the crates, wiggling and struggling to work herself free. But as she did the net only wrapped her more tightly, gradually restraining her movements. Soon Asha was left all but motionless on the floor.

"Calm down Asha! Calm yourself!" She thought to herself as she struggled, enforcing some kind of order within the sudden panic that was storming her mind..

"Call upon the power..." The new knight reminded herself, closing her eyes and drawing in the Voin source.

But no sooner had she begun to do so, than she suddenly found herself crying out and tensing uncontrollably as a horrid blast of punishing electricity ran through her body. She felt her vision swimming, continuing to struggle and fight on instinct, even as her focus and power was scattered to the wind. Then came the second blast, and by the third she was barely conscious at all. And while this happened, the smuggler stared down at her writhing, wiggling body, resting one foot on the crates and looking over them and at her convulsing form with an obvious hunger, a wolfish grin wide over his face.

"D-Damn it! That was too close!" The Crew Manager almost screamed at the smuggler.

"Nah, that was exactly what I was hoping would happen. T-Root is always good, but a cute Tungine to use it on is even better. Relax, your paid, and I've got what I was after." Said the smuggler.

The Crew manager rubbed the back of his head, staring down at the incapacitated Knight of Voin with a dubious expression.

"Hmmm, you selling her? How much?" He asked the smuggler, eyes scanning up and down the exotic, orange skin of the young, armored woman who had nearly taken off his hand..

"Ha! You wish I was selling her! But I'll throw in some extra credits if you put her on those crates and wheel it all over to my ship."

-Several Hours Later-

The Smuggler, one Tarran Shinzan, was just finishing up with his final preparations to leave. The bulk of the Tenma Root powder had been stowed away on his freighter, his IFF Mimics were all online, and all his systems were a go. Stepping into the cockpit, Tarran slung himself down into the primary controls, unable to stop smiling as he considered what cargo he was hauling away this time. Once a bounty hunter, until he realized how much more lucrative and "safe" the smuggling business was, the tall man had always entertained designs to acquire for himself an alien comfort "pet".

There were plenty of species active on the galactic stage who could serve the purpose. Neminians were his initial choice, at first. A thoroughly amorous alien species, enjoyed by humans of various worlds for their lovely appearances, submissive natures, and receptive bodies. But that had changed abruptly only a few weeks ago, while running from a bust on the tenth level of the Tansaras Station, a trading hub he had been working out of. Well, until the Knights of Voin showed up. That was when he first saw Asha, and it was infatuation at first sight. Young, nubile, and most tantalizingly of all, forbiddenly powerful, Tarran had narrowly avoided falling into a doomed scrap with her and several thugs who worked for one of the local crime lords.

Instead of fighting, he had hidden, and from his hiding place he had watched the small knight completely dismantle the assailants, hot orange skin visible in blurs as she had wielded her black sword and used her mysterious power to overcome the hostiles who threatened her, taking them two by two. Red hair flowing behind her like a fiery ribbon, stretching and bending as she beat them down, Tarran had watched every moment of her fight before making good his get away, limping out of the place, though not due to any wound, but thanks to the raging hard on he could not seem to quell. He had to have her. Not just a Tungine like her, but she herself.

Her display had struck him on multiple levels, and since that moment, he had been unable to think of anything or anyone else. And now, she was his. The thought nearly made him suspiciously hasty as he took off from the world, disguising himself as a busy trader as he departed the patrolled space around the planet, and entered deep space. The moment he could, Tarran flipped the switch which instructed his auto-pilot to activate. After giving it a new destination, and ordering it to alert him as they approached, he stood, and walked back towards the hatch that led out of the ship's control center, and into the rest of the freighter.

He strode quickly, impatiently through the common area of the vessel, though he rarely shared it with anyone, and then went towards his room. He entered and stepped inside, but to both him, and anyone else who might enter at any time, the small captain's quarters seemed utterly uninhabited, and uncontroversial. Which was exactly as he had designed it, for this smaller space was not his actual room, but rather, a decoy for any authorities searching his vessel. Activating a hidden switch, the duel bunk bed he never used sank into the wall, and enabled him access to his real, hidden room.

The true room within was a fair amount larger than the false one, but still relatively compact. Modular and efficient, the room was composed of wall mounted shelves and storage space which contained most of the varied tools of his craft. Energized armor sets, wracks of unique or rare weapons, and rows upon rows of recreational drugs he preferred, either for his own use, or for use on others. And, hidden inside one of the more elusive drawers, were the many amorous toys he had obtained in preparation for this day, toys he intended to take his time introducing to Asha's trained and tempered body.

And Inside, his prize was awake and waiting in the center of it all. Still clothed in her scant armor and loose, black robes, the Tungine woman laid out before him was still a tantalizing sight to see. She was blindfolded, chained down to his bed by each limb, and, additionally, by a collar he had wrapped around her neck. She had a dancer's frame, taught, trained muscles flexing under supple, orange skin, which was marked by natural swirls of lighter, cream color, which left natural, striping patterns across her body. And though her shoulders, chest, hands, and feet wore thicker armor, she was virtually nude everywhere else, wearing a small pair of armored shorts, and covered between all those places in nothing more than a fishnet of energy absorbing mesh.

He could see from the disheveled state of his bed sheets that she had woken some time ago, and had been struggling since. Her red hair was splayed out and tossed across the tan sheets and pillows, some tangled and hanging on the pair of horns which sprouted from her head like an ornate crest. Her skin gleamed with a soft glow born of the sweet smelling sweat she was lightly coated in after her struggles, which must have been fairly frantic exertions on her part.

Now, however, she did something else. The girl, Asha, was mostly still, face tense with concentration, easily read even past her blind fold. She was so focused, in fact, that she did not even notice him, not by sound or smell, as he entered and began to watch what she was doing. Beside the tantalizingly helpless prize of his, secured against the wall to her right, was her single piece black sword.

Tarran had locked it inside of a hard glass case, wrapping both the sword, and the case around it, in durable chains which adhered the blade to the case, and the case to the farthest wall from the bed. He knew that the knights drew their supernatural powers from their swords somehow, but had not realized just how much of their power they kept, even when separated from those off, cold blades. As it was, the sword was trembling and quaking, rattling around inside the case and clinking loudly against the interior, as if being magnetically wrenched towards the bound girl. And he could see that while one of her hands, the hand facing away from the case, was balled into a tight fist, her other hand, the one nearest the case, was open and beckoning it with an unseen power.

He stood and stared at her for a time, admiring that metaphysical strength she so willingly displayed, and watching her test it against the power of his planning. The Satisfaction he got from every moment of watching her struggle and fail to succeed, in spite of what and who she was...well, it was enough to make him wait, drinking her in silently, and secretly. Imagining the days that would come, when he would begin training his new alien pet, Tarren licked his lips, and tiptoed to one of his hidden shelves, one containing a medical style respirator cup, though what he loaded within it was less than strictly medicinal...

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Asha groaned, eyelids feeling heavy, almost sticky. Her body ached around her, pangs and stings born of over worked muscles and physical strain helping to further rouse her from the stupor she had languished within. Her head was pounding. What had happened to her? Slowly the ordeal began to return to the young knight, and her eyes snapped open. She had been in the middle of apprehending some criminals when...

"The nano-net!" She gasped, remembering the rare weapon which had been used against her with a cold shock..

It had begun electrocuting her harshly after she had been ensnared within it, and from what she could judge, it must have kept doing so until she was knocked out of her senses. Speaking of which, she realized then, her eyes having snapped entirely open, that wherever she was, it was pitch black. No, she began to understand what was really happening after only a few more moments. The room was not dark and lightly, rather, someone had blindfolded her while she was unconscious!

With a sluggish energy which belied her sudden near panic, Asha tried to roll up, sensing that she was on her back against something soft, maybe a bed. She only managed to curl her body up into a half sitting position before the chain and collar which had been fastened around her neck were pulled tight, drawing a choked cough out of the surprised Knight of Voin, falling back against the soft fabric under her. She reached for the cushion loop of metal which encircled her neck immediately, and learned then that her wrists were also restrained, the chains shackled there not having enough reach to allow her to touch any of the bindings.

Captured! She had been taken prisoner by that meager smuggler! The sudden shame that came with the realization colored her cheeks a redder shade of orange, even as she scrunched her face into a scowl. Asha kicked with her legs and found them also restrained, though with far more slack in those chains than her arms or collar had been afforded. She struggled for a time, flexing and twisting against the shackles as she learnt their limitations, and found them not wanting.

Thoroughly anchored down, Asha rested, panting, cool sweat coating her from the exertions. After a few calming breaths, Asha attempted something altogether different and began to focus her mind. Some members of her order could use the power of Voin as efficiently alone as with a sword, but Asha, new as she was, still relied heavily on her black blade to funnel and control the intense powers from beyond.

So it was that she had trouble summoning her full strength to herself, but, luckily, that was not what she was even really attempting. Instead, she reached out with her mind, trying to sense the direction of her sword, and pull it into her hand. It was not long before she felt it respond to her, and, biting her lip in concentration, she grunted sharply, the blade hopping and then, flying towards her, or rather, trying to. Asha could not see what was happening, but sensed that the blade was being held back by something, restrained so that it could not reach her open hand. She pulled on it, again and again, listening as it rattled chains of its own, straining to no success.

Nevertheless, she pulled and pulled, face tensing hard, holding her breath as she reached and yanked at the weapon for all she was worth! But, at the end of it, the only reward she reaped was a piercing headache, and a thicker, uncomfortable sheen of sweat which coated her from head to toe, cooling more rapidly over her bare skin than under her armor, and leaving her shivering. Asha panted, gulping air down and whimpering angrily at the stinging she felt in her temples from the over use of her limited powers. She needed that sword!

Asha was about to try again when she heard something else in the room with her, a voice! A...chuckle?

"Stars and Streams, you really don't give up do you?" Said a man's voice.

Asha's heart was already beating quickly, but its pace increased, a hard, progressing thumping growing in her chest as she tried to hone in on where the man was in the room, how close he was.

"Knights of Voin aren't accustomed to giving up." She said, feigning a smirk to hide her fraying nerves.

"But, by all means, feel free to quit while you're ahead. I might even let you live." She added.

He laughed at that as well, the sound unmistakably closer, and to her right. Asha tried to lean away, but had little leeway to do so.