Before I met Lady Jacqueline, I had never taken a human life. Knowing my reputation, this might surprise some of you, but it’s the truth. There are those who say M'lady was worth killing for, and no doubt, they are correct. But it didn’t happen like that, at least not for me. And before I killed, I died a thousand deaths that will continue to haunt me till the end of my days.

My name is Scorch, at least that’s how the history books will remember me. My real name is not important, nor was I, until I became Lady Jacqueline’s bodyguard. But I’m getting ahead of myself. If you are to understand the nature of our relationship, you must first understand its beginning. It began, like all things, with a big bang.

I will never forget the first moment I saw her. I suppose most men wouldn’t. I had heard tales of the Heiress to Baron Ceston’s throne and fortune. I suppose everyone had. But nothing could have prepared me for actually meeting her, for she was so much more--and so much less than I’d expected.

Tales of her beauty were almost certainly exaggerated, for though she was attractive, she was not beautiful in the classic sense of the word. Yet she had a certain undefinable quality about her that made men want her. It was obvious from the first moment you met her and remained obvious forever after. She was one of those women who brought men to their knees and that’s all there was to it.

But I wasn’t one of those men. I was young, proud, untamable. I have often wondered what it was that first drew her to me, for though I had long ago ceased being modest about my looks, I realized I had little to offer a member of the nobility. It was certainly true my black hair, green eyes, olive skin and muscular body consistently drew women to my bed. But I also knew that would not be the case with her. She was an Heiress and I but a lowly guard, and a new one at that.

I worked for Baron Ceston and life was good. I enjoyed some small amount of respect, certainly as much as my breeding would allow, I got to carry a fancy sidearm, or one I thought was fancy at the time, and I was still young and full of hope for the future. I didn’t realize back then, all futures end in death. Only blind sighted optimists say otherwise.

My story begins in the Baron’s main gardens, which, strangely enough, was the place the Head of Internal Security asked us to meet with him. I didn’t know why at the time, and it would be a long time before I learned. Still, when the Head of Security summons, you don’t question, you go.

Jack Warner was a tall man, and built like a mobile infantry unit, even before the surgeons had gotten hold of him. He’d been in the employ of Baron Ceston for many long years. He was old enough to be my father, but I doubt I could have defeated him in combat with any weapon, even while he was sleeping.

What the surgeons can do to a man is beyond belief, as you will soon find out. But I didn’t know any of it at the time. All I knew was my Commander, Jack Warner, had asked to meet several of the newer guards in the Baron’s gardens after our shift was done.

I didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t think I’d done anything wrong, nor did the others when I asked them. There were three of us. John was twenty-five, a year younger than me, and Tom two years older. Both had short dark hair and beards, but in spite of that similarity, they had nothing in common. John was heavier, slower moving and rather quiet. Tom was slim, energetic and loquacious. Despite their differences, they were good friends, closer to each other than I was to either of them.

Lord Warner also had dark hair and a dark beard, but he was so large and dangerous looking, it was hard to even think of him as human. The machine parts built into his body must have brought his weight up to around two hundred kilos. At least one leg and one arm were independent devices made of black corundium, and some say his heart had been replaced as well. I sort of doubted it. It had probably just been removed.

So at the end of my shift, I set out for the gardens, accompanied by two guards almost as new as I. We didn’t speak as we made our way through the large dome, passing all manner of flowering bushes and trees.

The gardens were empty at that hour, which was possibly why he chose it as a meeting place, though I could think of many other places that would have served better. At least that was my theory at the time.

The Baron’s gardens were the envy of everyone on Ballista, even those technically above him. I say technically for though Baron Ceston was not as powerful as some of the high ranking clergy or the Emperor's other appointees, his guile and power allowed him to get away with much that no one else seemed to be able to. He was a brilliant man, our Baron. Probably the smartest I’d ever met.

Such were my thoughts as we approached the area for our rendezvous. Lord Warner was already there, looking as dangerous as ever. He appeared almost surreal against the lush green backdrop. The pastel wildflowers sprinkled about only added to the incongruity.

Lord Warner waited for us to arrive and said nothing as he looked us over. We did a fair job of pretending not to be terrified, but it’s hard to remain calm in the presence of a man who has the right to discipline you any way he chooses. Our very lives were his for the asking.

As I watched him, I wondered what sorts of weapons might be hidden in the cyborg portions of his body. It wasn’t long before I found out.

When he finally deigned to speak, we still didn’t know if we were in trouble or not. Lord Warner’s voice was as unpleasant as the rest of him.

"Gentleman, if you’re ready to begin."

"Yes, Sir," I said, just a moment before the other two. I didn’t actually know I was ready, but I strongly suspected Lord Warner didn’t care. I never found out what he was going to say, for the next sound we heard was a woman’s scream.

I leapt into action, running in the direction of the sound. The one thing that had not occurred to me beforehand was that this was some sort of training exercise, or perhaps even a test. If that were the case, it explained why he’d called us to the gardens. I must have come to the conclusion before John or Tom, for I had quite a head start on them.

Another scream allowed me to pinpoint precisely where the sound was coming from. But it wasn’t until I leapt over a hedge that I realized this was no drill. Lady Jacqueline lay on the ground, her white shift dirty and half-ripped. There was a man astride her. He seemed familiar, but I couldn’t identify him from my position.

The explosion deafened me. My hands instinctively sought my ears, though they were too late to do any good. My head rang like a bell. I looked to my left and Lord Warner stood there, cyborg arm pointed at what was left of the attacker. He moved toward Lady Jacqueline and I did the same. She was breathing heavily, but she seemed otherwise uninjured, at least physically.

"M'lady, are you hurt?" asked Lord Warner.

She stared at him, then glanced at me. "I’m okay. Just shaken. I can’t believe it."

Only then did John and Tom show up. John was breathing heavily, but Tom hadn’t even broken a sweat. They both stopped as soon as they saw the scene. Tom turned away, but John stared at the half-charred corpse, apparently fascinated.

Lady Jacqueline slowly found her feet and I got my first good look at her. Tall and slender, hair as black as mine, worn as if a crown. Dark eyes like pits, easy to fall into if you weren’t careful. Thin lips, pouting slightly. At first I thought she was holding back tears, but I now know she looked like that often. And her body, no longer truly covered by her torn and stained white shift, was to die for, or to kill for as the test of time would prove.

Lord Warner didn’t look particularly winded either. Certainly he wasn’t breathing heavily when he spoke. "Would you like to tell me just what happened?"

The Heiress dropped her head. "I wish I knew. I decided I needed some peace and retired to the garden, alone but for Carson."

As soon as she named him, I knew who her assailant had been. He had been Lady Jacqueline’s personal bodyguard. At first I wondered why he had done it, but a second look at the Heiress, even disheveled as she was, answered my question. To what lengths would a man go if he had to follow her around every day? To be constantly in her presence, without being able to have her? It might be more than any man could bear.

Which was no excuse. Carson had gotten what was coming to him. He might not have, had Lord Warner not requested our presence in the garden.

Lord Warner didn’t approach any closer. Perhaps he was scared of his own reaction, seeing her there like that. I was too, but was younger and didn’t have his experience.

I walked right up to her. "You’re sure you’re all right, M'lady?"

She smiled, and I almost shuddered. That one young woman should have such power didn’t seem right. Worse still, I could tell from her expression, she knew just what power she had. Lord Warner spoke and I turned my attention to him, happy for even that distraction.

"My Lady, I apologize for this unfortunate incident. I will select another bodyguard immediately."

"You will do no such thing."

"Lady Jacqueline, surely you realize your father will not allow you to go unguarded."

She looked him dead in the eyes. "I didn’t say I would go unguarded. I said you will not select a bodyguard for me. I will choose my own."

A dangerous and thoughtful look entered Lord Warner’s eyes. I took an involuntary step backward. "You have someone in mind, I suppose."

Her smile was somewhere between angelic and demonic. "Of course, I do." She whirled and pointed at me. "This one."

"Absolutely unacceptable. He’s too new and doesn’t have the knowledge a bodyguard would need."

Her smile never faltered. "Then train him."

Without another word she walked past me, but Lord Warner was not through.

"And where, precisely, do you think you’re going?"

She turned back and arched a single eyebrow. "I am going back to my quarters to bathe and rest. I will remain there, until my new bodyguard is trained. If you try to send another in his stead, you will find me most uncooperative. Am I clear?"

I thought Lord Warner would continue to argue the point, but he didn’t. I suppose even the Head of Security must obey the wishes of the Heiress. I had not, until that moment, realized just how much power she enjoyed.

"Yes, M'lady."

She smirked and walked quickly away. Lord Warner gestured to Tom and John and they set off after her. They would accompany her back to her rooms. When we were alone, Lord Warner glared at me.

"I’m sorry, Sir, but I had no hand in that. And I’ll do my best to protect Lady Jacqueline, even if it means surrendering my life."

"Oh, I’m well aware of that, Mr. Aston. But I am not overly worried about Lady Jacqueline. It was you I was trying to protect."

I stared at him for a long time before I decided he wasn’t joking.


***

The next day, I was awakened early by a royal messenger and guided to the Baron’s private medical facility. Lord Warner was waiting for me along with a woman in her late thirties or early forties. Short blonde hair framed her face, and the blue eyes behind her eyeglasses were intelligent and alive. She didn’t need the glasses, of course. No one did. The glasses and the way she wore her hair made her look somewhat severe, which was no doubt her intention. She wore a white lab coat that disguised her body completely. The overall effect was to make her look somewhat sexless, which I thought was a waste. She would have been damned attractive.

Both rose when I entered and the woman made no secret of studying me. It was the Head of Security who spoke.

"Good morning. I trust you slept well after last night’s excitement."

"Yes, Sir."

"Lose the Sir. This isn’t military and I’m not your father."

"Yes, Sir...Lord."

He rolled his eyes. "Look. You’re going to be reporting to me directly after your procedure, so the formality is useless. Formality is for show, Mr. Aston. Since you’ll be talking to me sans witnesses, you can call me Jack."

I nodded. "And you can call me Frank."

"Good. Now, this is Dr. Naran. She’s in charge of you for the next two to three weeks. During that time, you’re going to go through a lot and you’re going to hate it. But when it’s done, you’ll thank me, believe me."

I didn’t like the sound of that, but I wasn’t going to be given a choice. The Heiress had told them to train me, whatever that meant, and her word was as close to law as anyone’s but the Baron’s. I forced my nervousness down and smiled. For the first time, the doctor spoke. "You won’t be smiling for long. It’s time."

She extended her hand and Lord Warner took it. "Try not to have too much fun with him. We need him in one piece when this is done."

Her smirk did nothing to reassure me. "Don’t worry, Jack. I have my orders and I know how important this is. He’s in good hands."

"Yes, I imagine he is." He turned to me. "Good luck, Frank."

"Good-bye Jack."

And just like that, he was gone, leaving me alone with Dr. Naran.

"Come."

She turned and entered the inner office. I had never been here before and I didn’t like the look of the place at all. The room wasn’t very large. Off to the side was something that looked like a cross between a bed of nails and a clam. There were obvious protrusions on both the top and the bottom, suspended in some sort of gray cushion. The other side of the room consisted of a large panel, hosting number of buttons, levers and dials, which obviously controlled the table.

"Get undressed."

Slowly, I began to unbutton my shirt. She watched, focusing on me completely in a way that made me most uncomfortable. I shrugged the shirt from my shoulders and pulled it off. Her eyes never wavered. I wondered if this is what women felt like when they stripped for me.

Of course, this woman was a complete stranger. I didn’t know her at all, had never seen her before our recent introduction. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been embarrassed undressing in front of a woman. I had thought those days were behind me, but apparently I was wrong.

She must have sensed my mood, for she spoke. "There is nothing to be embarrassed about, Frank. During the next couple of weeks, I’m going to be working with your body and your mind, inside and out. You will have no secrets from me. I will share your darkest nightmares and your most intimate experiences. I will know you better than you even know yourself. I will surf your most secret thoughts and mold them to my will. When I am done with you, you will be exactly what I want you to be, no more, no less."

I didn’t say anything, but noticed my hand shaking as I placed it on the strips that held up my pants. It amazed me that after all these years, men’s trousers were still fastened in this manner. I jerked suddenly and the sound of my fly coming undone tore through the room. It was the only act of defiance I would be allowed. I let my pants drop to the floor and stepped from them."

"All of it."

I shrugged, bent over, and slid off my briefs. Then I rose and stood before her, the very act almost a defiance in and of itself. I would not cower or act embarrassed. Nor would I simply allow her to make me her toy. I had a will and would use it.

"Now what?" I asked.

She gestured to the machine. "Make yourself comfortable."

I turned to regard it. I had a feeling this would be horribly unpleasant, but then, disobeying a direct order would likely be worse. I approached it and reached out a hand. The foam was comfortable and even the protrusions were softer than I’d thought they would be. Without wasting any more time, I sat on the edge of the table, then lay down. I felt my naked body sink deeply into the foam.

Dr. Naran walked to her control panel and pressed a button. Slowly, the top half of the machine closed over me until my body was completely engulfed. I wondered how I’d breathe. I certainly couldn’t speak. I felt a moment of profound claustrophobia and fought it down. I soon realized I could feel nothing, see nothing, hear nothing. I had once been in a sensory deprivation chamber and it was much like this.

I seemed to have no trouble breathing, which was something of a relief. Still, I felt anything but relaxed. Then Dr. Naran’s voice entered my mind, apparently directly.

"Hello, Frank. Ah, good, I see you can hear me. I’m going to run a few tests on you. Primarily responses to different stimuli. I need to know what makes you react and how. Some of this will no doubt be painful. At other times you may feel pleasure. Just relax and let yourself go. The more you fight, the longer this session will last."

It found myself holding my breath and released it. What seemed like a long time later, I felt the temperature drop suddenly. An icy wind passed through my entire body, starting with my toes and working its way up. It was as if someone had decided to pull a sheet of frost over me. Then, just as suddenly, it was gone.

Then it grew hot, horribly so. Perspiration coated my body. I wanted nothing more than to withdraw from the sensation, but that wasn’t allowed and in fact, after a short while, the heat increased in intensity until I could no longer stand it. My muffled screams didn’t alter the level of pain, but I was powerless to struggle. Even if the machine didn’t hold me in place, it seemed I had no control over my muscles. I mentally writhed in agony, until, many minutes later, the heat faded, leaving me gasping and sobbing.

For a long time, nothing happened. Then I felt tiny electric shocks touch various portions of my anatomy. My fingers, toes, nipples. Here and there, as if some tiny flying insect was circling my body, irritating me each time it landed. Then the charges increased in both frequency and power and it was more than just irritation. The back of my neck, behind my left eye, my right knee, my left testicle. The sensation grew more unpleasant, bordering on painful, still the intensity increased. Each new shock took me to a higher level of pain, until I thought I would die from it. This time, however, I found I could not scream. I had to lie motionless and endure it. I had no way to measure the passage of time, but I was sure it went on for hours. When it finally stopped, I was no longer certain I was comfortably within the boundaries of sanity.

Suddenly, I felt my body shudder and felt my cock begin to harden. I didn’t want it to and fought the sensation. It was horribly uncomfortable, considering it was pointing in the wrong direction. I could feel it pushing up into the foam. But as it grew harder, I felt my desire grow until I couldn’t think of anything but release. I found myself gasping for air and uselessly tried to grab it. I had never known such desire and when it ended, I wept as I’d never wept before. But this was only the beginning of the torment.

"I can see your thoughts, Frank. You’re angry with me. You want to hurt me, but you can’t. You’re powerless to do anything against me."

The next voice that spoke was that of my mother, who had died when I was ten. "Frankie, you know better than that. Behave yourself, young man."

Then I heard a new voice, belonging to one of my teachers. She had taught Interstellar History and I’d barely been able to concentrate, as I’d been distracted by her large, firm breasts and narrow waist. Her long brown hair reached almost all the way to her nicely rounded ass. I couldn’t even remember her name, but I recognized her voice immediately.

"I know you want me, Frank. Why don’t you come here? That’s a good boy. Suck on my tit, Frank. Suck! Suck hard! Ohhhhhh yes, that’s good. Suck it, boy. Suck my tit!"

In my altered state of consciousness, I almost didn’t recognize this as one of my own adolescent fantasies. My cock grew hard again, as hard as before and I sucked and sucked, as she bade me. On some level I knew I was still in the machine, but that no longer mattered. I finally had my tutor exactly where I’d always wanted her. I sucked even harder, hands sliding down over her curves.

Her own hands responded, touching me lightly, trailing down my cheek, neck, chest, lower and lower, until I thought I would die from anticipation. She touched my cock lightly and I felt it jump. I moaned and tried to fight the sensation. I was still in the clam and Dr. Naran was still watching. I wondered if she was doing anything else. I wondered what her body looked like, beneath that white lab coat.

Then my teacher’s hand grabbed my cock more firmly and I was returned to the moment. She grasped me tightly, insistently. Her eyes glazed over as she stroked, up and down. I clenched my teeth, but couldn’t stop myself from thrusting into her. "That’s very good, Frank. Soooo good."

Her hand moved harder and faster, until I was panting. I could barely think anymore. I could barely see. The only sensation in the world was that of her fingers on my cock, stroking and squeezing. Suddenly, I needed to cum more than I’d ever needed anything in my life.

"What do you think you’re doing!" My father was there and the tutor faded away. My excitement was gone an instant later, and I cowered in fear. His first punch struck me in the midriff and then again on the back of my neck. I went down hard.

"You know better than that. You’re going to learn if I have to kill you!"

Then there were no more voices and I was left alone with murderous thoughts I hadn’t embraced in years.

That was all for a long time, and it occurred to me, Dr. Naran might be giving me a chance to recover. I didn’t exactly sleep, but I wasn’t awake either. As I lay there, floating in nothingness, I thought more than I had in a long time. I embraced ideas as what they were--the only thing in my world. In the days to come, the isolation would be the hardest thing to deal with.

My father had been a guard like me, but my mother’s sudden death left him taciturn, bitter, angry. He had no one to take it out on but me and he had. I never knew what killed my mother and after being beaten for asking, I learned not to care. It wasn’t an idyllic existence, but I did learn to defend myself and later managed to parlay that into a career. But being a guard in some border town was a far cry from working for Baron Ceston.

The list of coincidences that had brought me here are too long and too numerous to go into. Suffice to say, I hadn’t expected the opportunity, but when it was presented, I jumped at it. And for a brief while, it had been everything I thought it would be. And then last night, it had all changed.

I thought then about Lady Jacqueline and found myself aroused. I fought the reaction, as I knew I had to. She was completely out of reach. Many guards, I’m certain, would be jealous of my new position, but I was just as certain the job wouldn’t be easy and I’d gladly have traded with someone else had it been permitted.

Alas, I had no control over my destiny. Dr. Naran would do what she wanted to me and afterwards, I would have to serve the Heiress.

In spite of my resolve, I allowed a fantasy of what was to come to carry me away, until my excitement almost reached the level it had under the doctor’s control.


***

I don’t remember much of those weeks. I ran through just about every emotion in existence and every memory of importance. I relived old relationships, refought old battles and relearned old lessons. I was subjected to every extreme I could name and quite a few I couldn’t. I later learned Dr. Naran had directly stimulated the pleasure and pain centers of my brain and that not all of it had been necessary. Apparently, she took great pleasure in making others jump through her emotional hoops.

Hours were spent screaming in pain, fighting impossible sensations that under other circumstances my mind would have blocked out. There were days filled with such sadness, I could think of nothing but crying and had I been allowed the reaction, I would have drowned in my own tears. There were rages that left me panting and embarrassments that made me wish I were dead, or had never been born. After only a short time, I knew more about the nature of Hell than any priest. And still it continued, not for hours, not for days, not for years, but for an impossible length of time: centuries, millennia, aeons. When it was done, I didn’t have a reaction of my own left.

When the clam finally opened, I wasn’t surprised. In truth, it was more like being born than awakening. I had never been to this world, not in my current form.

At first, the light blinded me, but as the room grew into focus, I realized I wasn’t alone. Dr. Naran was there and, to my great surprise, so was the Baron.

I had never met Baron Ceston personally, though I was too disoriented to be nervous. Regardless, I couldn’t help but be aware of my nakedness. Nor could I fail to notice my senses, which had been dormant for too long. Colors were brighter, sounds were louder and scents more clearly defined.

In that harsh light, I could only barely make out the Baron’s pale hair and clean-shaven face. If I ran into him at a later time, I might not recognize him. I tried to speak, but my tongue was not yet my own. The Baron held up a hand.

"It will be a while before your speech center comes back online. I don’t mind telling you, I followed your progress with great interest."

I was stunned by this revelation, but in my current state, was fairly sure it didn’t show.

"You have been part of a great experiment, and are to be commended on your reactions. You are a strong man. Of course, in the hands of Dr. Naran it was only a matter of time."

I still couldn’t speak, but managed a shudder as some of the past days returned to me.

"Soon, you will be guarding my most precious possession--my daughter. Her last bodyguard betrayed me and died for it. I understand you were there to witness it. I cannot tolerate the idea of a servant of mine attempting to harm my daughter. She is the heir to my throne and I would not see her harmed. "So, you have been programmed as one might program a machine. Dr. Naran has made it impossible for you to harm her in any way. You can’t even ask anyone else to harm her. The idea of anything happening to my daughter is abhorrent to you, as you will soon find out. Because I can’t be there to protect her all the time, that task falls to you. I’m now sure you’ll be perfect for the job."

I felt a wave of anger surge from deep inside me. I tried to speak, but couldn’t, which was fortunate. The Baron was not the most patient man and his power over me was absolute. I fought my temper down as best I could. The Baron, apparently finished with me, spoke to Dr. Naran in a whisper. Even with my hearing accentuated, I couldn’t make out what he was saying. Finally, he turned back to me.

"There’s a party tonight and I’d like you to be there. I’ll have a servant collect you at eight. Nod if you have something formal to wear."

I nodded once and he nodded back. "Excellent. I’ll see you tonight."

Without another word, Baron Ceston left the room. I turned to Dr. Naran.

"Lie down for a bit. You’re probably tired."

She was right on that count, but the only place to lie down in the room was inside the machine. She must have caught the thought for she smirked.

"Don’t worry. Your programming is quite complete. I shall enjoy viewing the recordings for a long time to come."

I forced words out of my mouth, though they were barely intelligible. "You...enjoyed...it."

"Oh yes. I did very much. Quite an imagination you have. I think everyone should enjoy their work, don’t you?"

I didn’t answer. I wouldn’t give her the satisfaction.

Just to show her I wasn’t scared, I sat back on the machine and lay down. I closed my eyes and in spite of the fears, soon fell into a deep sleep.

     

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