Pinebarrens Hunter

Chapter 1

Rachel stepped off the bus into cool summer evening and looked about at her surroundings. The automated bus quickly drove away leaving her in the parking lot of what was once a bustling shopping center, but now completely abandoned. She frowned as she checked her tablet, verified her location and the nominal 10km she’d have to walk. She had tried to get the bus to drop her off closer but the most it’s limited AI was willing to do was barely exit the Parkway. She had considered chartering a private car but most refused to come this far out and the ones that would she couldn’t afford.

The whole area was well within the McGuire Fallout Zone and while the radiation wasn’t too bad anymore, nobody had any burning desire to move back in.

Rachel tucked her tablet away in the satchel slung over her shoulder, tightened the strap a bit and started walking. The sharp tap-tap-tap of her high heels on concrete seemed to echo off each abandoned building as she moved quickly west. She immediately became aware of how much she stood out as she caught a glimpse of her reflection in a storefront window.

She wore a tightly cut professional business suit; black jacket and a pencil skirt that stopped just above her knee. Her pale blue collared shirt paired well with her creamy pale skin and auburn hair. Her combination of high heels and tailored suit showed off her curves without being too forward and her face hinted at a blend of Asian and European ancestry. She appeared in her late 20’s, early 30’s though good makeup and readily available surgery made that a guess at best. Overall, far more appropriate in a Manhattan board room than the desolate streets of South Jersey.

Rachel pulled the satchel tight under her arm and doubled her pace cursing herself for not stopping to find more appropriate shoes. Her eyes and head darted back and forth watching for movement as shadows grew longer. She seemed to be alone and hoped it would remain that way until she made it to her destination.

Darkness soon fell and she relaxed a bit as the growing chirps of crickets started to drown out her footsteps. The only illumination came from the rising moon and she worried she’d miss one of the landmarks. She was looking for an underground roadhouse; one only hinted at online in dark places but it seemed her best option to find what she needed. She wished they would have just given coordinates but realized that wouldn’t make it very underground.

“37 west, left at the second flying goose,” she mumbled to herself, remembering one of the clues. She smiled as she saw a burned-out store with a flying bird logo on the side of the road. “Ok that’s the first one…..but how many of these same stores can there be?” About a mile later she passed the second one and sure enough there was a road to the left.

“Right on the iron rails to left on the sandy trail.” Now off the main road onto a side street it was getting very dark and there were far more trees. The once pleasant sound of crickets, something she’d never heard before tonight, soon became almost deafening as it sounded like the whole forest was chirping and croaking. She almost didn’t notice when the sound of her footsteps changed from a tap to a clink. She knelt down and felt the ground brushing away the ever present sand to find a metal rail….a set of old train tracks.

Rachel smiled to herself, a little skip in her step as she followed one clue to the next. Down the old railway, to a sandy trail, along a long still lake, and across a few sand dunes. Her heels were nearly ruined at this point but she didn’t know what might be buried in this sand and didn’t want to impale her rather delicate feet.

The moon was high and it was nearly 1am when she crested the dune and saw the soft glow of a building in the distance; the first artificial lights she’d seen since she stepped off the bus. Another ten minutes of trudging through the sand and she stood in front of a large, semi run-down building. It looked like it might have been a warehouse or garage at one point from the rusting metal walls and roof but it had a distinct ‘bar’ feel to it or at least what she imagined one would look like out here. Bright neon letters spelled out ‘ACK’ above a set of double doors. It was an odd name she thought, but it meant it was definitely the place she’d heard about.

Rachel pushed open the door slowly and stepped inside to a large room dominated by what looked like a bar on the far wall and maybe a small stage off to the side. 32 people sat inside a room that might fit 150 if needed. They all turned to stare at her for a few moments before turning back to their business. She was nervous but this strange place may be her only option left. Her heels clicked on the smooth concrete floor as she crossed the room and approached the bar.

After a few beats a woman walked up to her with a mild smile. She wore a simple black tank top that showed off her muscled shoulders and large chest. She raised an eyebrow as she looked over Rachel but somehow didn’t seem too surprised. “What can I get you?”

Rachel didn’t quite know what to say, she’d never ordered at a place like this but she looked around and quickly nodded. “Oh oh yea. Umm can I get one ten to seven millimeter?” The bar tender nodded and started to look under the bar. “Need anything to drink with that?” she said placing a small and worn metal box on the counter.

“How about two hundred mils of perliquidum?” the bartender nodded and quickly retrieved a thin silver bottle placing it next to the box.

“That’ll be twenty-two for the bottle and ten for the box for the first hour, five each additional hour.”

Rachel nodded and reached into her satchel. The bartender pushed her a terminal and after another minute of fumbling around Rachel found her credit chit and plugged it in frowning as she saw it blink 52.3. She tapped 32 and hit TX before pulling the chit back and tucking it safely away. The bartender noticed the lack of tip, grumbled and walked away while Rachel took her box and bottle and found an empty table in the corner.

She looked around while getting settled. The lighting was dim and the thumping music was loud enough to muffle most conversations more than a table or two away. She placed her satchel right next to her on the table and then opened the metal box, pulling out two different sized wires connected by a transformer in the middle. She plugged one end into one of four open ports on the table then snaked the other end over the edge of the table and into her lap. She spread her legs slightly and hiked up her skirt. Reaching between her legs she easily opened a charging port on her inner thigh and connected the wire.

Rachel let out a small sigh as she felt power rush into her body. It had been nearly 46 hours since she last had a charge and the long journey had taken a lot out of her. She smiled and uncapped the bottle taking small sips of the clear, cold, slippery oil. ‘I made it’ she thought to herself as she looked again around the room. ‘Now I just need to find the right person to help.’

Before she could worry about that too long a handsome man walked over to her table and gestured at the open power ports. “Do you mind if I plug in?” he asked with a smile. He was tall, with sharp features, tan skin, white hair that hugged his head on the sides and waved on the top and golden eyes. He wore jeans, a black t shirt and an old Eagles hoodie.

She was drawn back to the eyes. He was obviously an android from the way they glowed; nothing natural about them. She found something very appealing about it, the way he openly embraced his synthetic nature. She was used to hiding it, pretending to be human for her job. She saw strength in him being what he was.

“No please do. I have a few open ports,” Rachel replied quickly. She smiled. ‘Oh maybe he’s the one,’ she thought. For some reason he looked like what she expected to find here. “I’m Rachel,” she extended a hand towards him, palm down, fingers slightly bent.

He looked at it a moment then grasped her hand and gave it a single shake. His skin felt rough on hers as he pulled it away and sat down. “I’m Kurt. It’s nice to meet you.” He pulled a similar box from his pocket and connected the transformer to a port in the side of his neck. “So what brings you to the Ack? You don’t seem like the type that would just wander in. I can only assume you’re here for a reason.”

“It was quite a journey to get here,” Rachel began to explain with an enthusiastic smile; happy to find other bots, free bots that could help her. “I’m from New York. Worked in a very successful law firm for 53 months; ever since I was activated. I was very trusted by their clients, many of which demanded a discrete touch.” She was proud of the work she did and hoped to impress Kurt enough to help her. “Those clients though were often not always … fully in compliance with the law. We got word that the Feds were coming to raid us and I overheard the bosses were going to scrap me.”

Kurt nodded as Rachel spoke. “No....? That’s horrible. After all those years of faithful service. Why were they going to do that?”

“I know right?” she smiled. “I worked really hard for that company. But they said I had stored data the Feds would want. You know, offshore account numbers, access codes, transfer records. I mean I know its valuable information but I didn’t want to die. So, I did some searching while they were busy. I found out about this place…heard it was a haven for synths that are in trouble…. need a place to go.” She reached into her bag and pulled out her mobile, quickly bringing up a few forum postings she found about the Ack, half proud that she found them and half trying to prove it to him.

“Oh yea,” Kurt smiled. “You’re in the right place. I can help you out. Do it all the time for folks.” He started at her a moment, his eyes flickering then looking down at the device in her hand. “Why are you still using that thing? You don’t have to pretend here. We’re all synths, just connect up naturally.”

Rachel seemed confused but then smiled and shook her head. “Oh no I don’t have a build in com link,” she tucked the mobile away. “Security reasons.” She leaned closer towards him, smelling an aroma of damp and cheap oil lubricant on him. “You see, I’m what they call a double walled unit. A synth locked inside a synth shell with very limited inputs. Keeps the things I know very secure….can’t be hacked or reprogrammed.” She says with a wide smile that drops a bit. “It limits me to only slightly better than a human level interface, though of course I’m faster and more precise. But no direct connection for data upload or download. Otherwise my old bosses would have just wiped the data and been done with it.”

Kurt slowly nodded, his eyes flickering again. “Ok I guess that makes sense. Fancy lady you are.” He paused again. “You worked for Nakamora right, on Cedar St right?”

“Umm yea, how did you know?” she asked.

“No big deal…just looked it up.” He tapped the side of his head. “You know it’s gone right? Burned up earlier today. Looks like the raid didn’t go well and they put up a fight.” Rachel seemed shocked “No I…..I was so focused on getting here….I didn’t think to look. I…I had friends there. I hope they made it out.”

Kurt placed a hand on Rachel’s shoulder. “Remember, these are the same people that were going to destroy you….put you through a shredder so they didn’t go to jail.” He gave her shoulder a little squeeze and smiled. “It’s probably for the best. With the fire and chaos, they might not even realize you’re gone for a while. It will make it easier to get you someplace safe.” His eyes flickered a bit again and then he unplugged and stood up. “Tell you what. I’m going to help you. I always like helping other synths in need; especially pretty ones in a tight bind.” He tucked the charger away and looked around. “Stay here for a bit, finish your charge and drink. You came in past the lake to the east right?” Rachel nodded. “OK great. On the north shore there is an outcropping near a large open area. I’ll meet you there with my car in ninety minutes. We’ll get you on the road and on your way to someplace safe. Sound good?”

“Oh yes thank you,” Rachel nodded with a big smile. She pulled up an image of the lake in her mind from when she walked it earlier, quickly picking up on the spot he described. “I know right where that is. I’ll see you then.” Still smiling she watched him walk out, focusing on the tight jeans holding in his ass. She felt like such an outlaw…. running from the Feds…. meeting strange men in bars……she wondered if he was fully equipped. She’d never been able to make use of her sexual functions before…. strict company policy and all that. But now that she was out and breaking far more than company bylaws, she was eager to try out this sex that the humans kept talking about.

• • • end Chapter 1***

As I always enjoy them I figured I would include some inspirational pictures for the characters. They are not an exact match but kind of get you 90% of the way there, and were what I was looking at while writing.

• 
  Rachel in her nice suit
• 
  Rachel's new friend Kurt
• 
  Inspiration for the bartender at ACK

Chapter 2

Rachel sat by herself for the rest of her time in the Ack. She looked up what she could on her tablet about the raid, finding a few articles about a fire fight and resulting fire that took out most of the building. She didn’t see anyone she liked that was specifically named as dead so he held out hope that they made it out or were smart enough to stay home that day.

At the same time, she calculated her approximate walking time to the rendezvous location then back calculated when she’d need to leave. She’d only paid for one hour on the charger and while she was tempted to push it more now that she’s going to be saved, she decided to save her money. Just in case. She returned the charger to the bartender with a full 30 seconds to spare and made her way outside. She wasn’t fully topped off but she figured she’d be good for at least another day or two.

At this point it was so late that it was almost early, but day/night cycles meant a lot less to robots that didn’t need to sleep. She looked over the bar again, smiling that she’d figured this all out. Off to the side, she spotted a dirt road leading west and several dozen cars and motorcycles strewn about an open sandy lot. “Well that would have been a lot easier,” she mumbled as she turned and once again started to negotiate the soft sand in her high heels.

It took a little work but she made it to the spot with a full 90 seconds to spare. She looked about into the near darkness and took in the peaceful scene. At this point even the crickets had gone to sleep and she found the silence pleasant.

A few minutes later Rachel heard the sound of an approaching car. Sure enough a large, black SUV pulled around a grove of trees and parked right in front of her. She had to adjust the light filters for her eyes as the headlights focused on her. After blinking a few times, she could make out Kurt and she smiled and waved. Just then two others got out of the vehicle and her smile faded. One of the new people was large, very large. He was shirtless with inhumanly sized muscles and a metal chin. Pistons and actuators could be seen either just under the skin or poking out. The other person was more normal human sized….female from her outline but as her eyes adjusted she could see both her arms and legs were mechanical. They looked industrial with full range of motion joints and glowing lights throughout. Her head was smooth except for a single row of spikes that at first Rachel assumed was styled hair but could soon see were actual spikes. As she walked forward into the light Rachel could see what skin she had was covered in elaborate designs, some glowing in the night. She wore only a black leather thong and bra along with a wicked smile. “Is this the girl?” she asked.

“Yea Vicki….” Kurt replied. “She’s the one. But we can’t hack her. She’s got some special defenses. If you want that mob money we’re going to have to take it out of her like a human……slow and painful. But we’re all going to be filthy rich when it’s done.” “Kurt,” Rachel cried. “I thought you were going to help me. You said you wanted to help. I trusted you.” Her eyes dashed back and forth trying to figure out a plan of escape. She was on a point and there was water to her back and to her sides. She was nominally water proof but didn’t know how to swim. She could try to fight through but she knew any one of them could take her, never mind all three. Slowly she stepped out of her keels, feeling the cold sand on the bottom of her feet for the first time.

“You’re both wrong,” Vicki snapped back. “You, fancy girl were wrong to come here…to trust him.” She turned to Kurt. “And you were wrong to assume you’d get any of this. You already owe me so much money that you should consider yourself lucky if I let you go with a clean slate…..and that’s only if this rich bitch pays out.”

“Wait we had a deal…” Kurt growled. He started to reach behind his back, towards the pistol hidden in his waistband. With inhuman speed the large topless man lunged out and wrapped his hands around Kurt. One big meaty paw held his neck while the other took his arm just below the shoulder. He twisted it and Kurt cried out; a snapping sound filling the quiet air. With another twist and yank Kurt’s arm, still holding the pistol went flying. Sparks reflected in the truck’s windshield and the large man grasped Kurt’s head. He twisted again, opposite ways with each hand and the little android’s head ripped right off. He tossed it at Rachel’s feet and let the twitching body drop into the sand.

Rachel looked down and gasped. She could see the look of fear permanently stuck on Kurt’s face as his jaw twitched several times before going sill. “Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit,” she mumbled.

“Don’t worry girly. You won’t go that quick…..not unless you tell us what you want. Then I’ll have Clamps make it nice and fast,” Vicki chuckled.

Rachel’s processors were fully maxed out as she tried to think of a way out of this. She ran thousands of scenarios and none of them had a remote chance of success. Then she noticed Kurt’s gun. She’d have to lunge for it, and try to hit something vital. Her simulators gave it a 0.18% chance of success but that was better than any other option so far.

She dove for the gun and immediately the two other robots knew what she was doing. “Clamps…the gun….grab her, don’t break her!” Vicki snarled as she started to advance herself. The large robot’s hand managed to grasp the back of Rachel’s jacket and he roughly tore it off, nearly pulling the smaller robot off her feet. She fell forwards into the sand and Clamps stumbled back, caught a little off balance.

Rachel rolled onto her back, feeling the cold sand on her now bare arms. She stared up at the looming form of the robot reaching for her as her hands fumbled in the sand for the gun. Suddenly his right shoulder erupted in a cloud of sparks, synthetic flesh and bright red hydraulic fluid. A moment later a crack rippled across the terrain coming from across the lake. Clamps’ right arm dropped limp to his side and his eyes moved from Rachel to focus on the horizon.

“Fucking ambush!,” Vicki yelled as she tried to judge where the shot came from. “Grab her and get in the truck!” The half naked gyonoid scrambled for the driver’s side door, kicking up clouds of sand.

Clank turned again to Rachel, the command from his mistress too pressing in his mind for him to ignore, despite the massive damage; red fluid pulsed from the fist sized hole in his right shoulder. He moved again towards her just as her fingers found the pistol in the sand. She raised it up and was about to fire when his waist exploded in four loud bursts that walked their way across his belt. The heavy robot stumbled and fifth shot hit him square in the chest. His bare torso slipped backwards off the now severed hips and legs that fell sparking into the sand.

Rachel looked confused at the gun in her hand. She didn’t think she did that but then again, she’d never fired a gun before.

“Fucking bitch!” Vicki snarled from near the truck. She threw open the door, reached inside and returned with a viscous looking submachine gun. She pointed it towards Rachel when she too was struck with a hail of bullets. These new shots were much closer, coming from the woods behind the truck. *crack-crack-crack…..crack-crack* the shots rang out catching Vicki in the back. The robot turned around towards the woods giving Rachel a full view of the black, sparking holes in her decorated skin. One even catching her bra clasp, sending the miniscule garment tumbling forward. The robot was staggered; it raised its jerking arm to fire only to be caught by another half dozen loud shots. She stumbled back and fell to the sand, jerking and sparking “Fuck-fuck-CRITICAL ERROR-PRIMARY POWER FAILURE-----fuck”

Rachel screamed as she felt a firm grip on her ankle. Looking down she saw the iron chinned mug of Clamps pulling his half functional torso across the sand. “I’m still going to fucking kill you!” he growled. His right arm dragging against the sand he pulled with his left, dragging her towards him. She pointed her pistol down and squeezed. A bright flash eclipsed her vision and she nearly dropped the weapon from the recoil. Clamps flinched; a new smoking hole in his shoulder. He snarled at her, this time able to reach up to her waist. His fingers clamped down on the cloth of her blouse and skirt and they ripped away easily when he pulled down.

Terrified she pointed her gun at the hulk of a robot and fired over and over again. The rapid flashes created a strobe light effect, illuminating his furious face. Most of the small caliber rounds bounced off his thick skull, only tearing away bits of synthetic flesh and hair but one caught him in his left eye, gouging it out with a flash of sparks. Eventually the bolt locked back as she impotently clicked the trigger towards her attacker. He snarled and reached up again only to sputter and collapse as at least another ten loud rounds slammed into his back. The goliath fell silent, except for a subtle crackle of burning electronics.

Rachel hand shook, the empty pistol rattling in her grip. “What the hell is going on?” she mumbled. She had never been this scared before and her programming was having trouble processing the appropriate emotional protocols. She looked around, still half blinded by the headlights. She could hear sizzling electronics, Vicki’s garbled error filled meltdown, slow methodical steps in the sand and in the distance the rapid taps of someone running.

Darkness washed over the frazzled gynoid as someone stepped between her and the bright headlights. She lost the details in in shadow but she could make out black boots and cargo pants, the broad shoulders and hips of man, and the outline of a rifle; distortions of heat rising from the barrel. The man extended an open hand down to Rachel and cleared his through a little. “Come with me if you want to live,” he grumbled in an artificially lowered tone.

“Goddamnit Tom don’t be an asshole!” a woman yelled as she ran up onto the scene. “She’s been through enough already; she doesn’t need your dumbass shenanigans.” Like Tom she was dressed in mostly black but carried a huge rifle that seemed almost as long as she was tall.

Tom sighed and turned away from Rachel towards the new woman. “Jo, opportunities for a line like that, in the proper context, are very rare. You’ve got to go with them when you have the chance.” He took another deep breath and looked down at his smoking weapon “You can be such a killjoy, but you were right about the four fifty eight. Kicks like a mule but really gets the job done. It’s not a fifty but I can use it without breaking my collar bone.” He tapped his finger on the end of the gun, clearly burning himself a little before blowing on his fingers. “Ok….we’re going to set this down for a bit. Jo can you pull their cores and see if the truck is salvageable? I’ll check on our friend.”

He placed his weapon on the cold sand and then turned back towards Rachel. She could see a smile on his face now, his short hair and a scar next to his left eye. He squatted down next to her to try to get close to her eye level. “I’m sorry about that. I’m Tom, that’s Jo. Are you ok?” Rachel was still shaking a bit but managed to nod slowly. “Ok that’s good. Let me….just….just take care of that” he said with a little chuckle, reaching out to lift the empty pistol from her hand and set it aside. “I’m sorry about all of this. I didn’t mean for it to go down this way. The plan was to cleanly pop all three of them when they got to the right point but Kurt’s fucked things up….as usual.” He looked her over, noticing that most of her clothing had been destroyed. “Let’s get you cleaned up and on your way.”

Rachel accepted Tom’s help to her feet, suddenly realizing how exposed she was. She tried to cover up a bit with her arms but he shook his head and quickly slipped out of his leather jacket, tucking it around her shoulders. It was large, even on him and covered a good portion of her smaller frame. She could see that under the jacket he wore a sturdy armored vest over a cotton shirt. “What are you people? How did you know to be here? Not that I don’t appreciate the help but none of this makes sense.”

“Truck’s good,” Jo noted as she bent over the still sputtering and topless Vicki. Taking a tool from her pocket she dug it into the side of the gynoid’s bald head, twisted and popped off her rear skull plate. Reaching in she pulled out a small cube Rachel recognized as a processor core. The damaged gynoid fell silent and Jo moved on to the next unit.

Tom placed a hand on Rachel’s shoulder and led her to sit down with him in the back seat of the truck. “Jo and I are effectively bounty hunters. I’ve been hunting for Vicki and Clamps for a long time. Bad dudes, those two. Coring them will turn a nice profit. Kurt has a price on his core too for trafficking stolen units. Pretty much what he was doing tonight. I’ve been watching him for a while; the little fish to catch a bit fish. I knew he could call in Vicki but only for a big score. Apparently, you were it.”

Rachel started to panic a bit, wondering if her name was on a list somewhere. If Tom would ‘core’ her as well to make a buck. “Try to calm down,” he said putting a hand on her bare knee. “I know who you are and what you know….and I don’t care. I worry about the violent ones like those two…..bringing you in for some possible Fed financial case isn’t my job.”

Rachel relaxed a little, pulling the jacket tighter around her. It smelled different to her; not bad or stinky but an unfamiliar combination of smoke, leather and earthy musk. “How do you know? I mean do you have a spy at the Ack or something?”

Tom chucked and smiled, running his hand over his head. “I own the Ack. The whole thing is an elaborate honeypot. The cryptic dark web clues…rumors of safe haven for bots on the run…all designed on purpose to pull in folks that may have a bounty. It’s all a big snare….I mean it’s right there in the name. The Ack bar….Ackbar….” he puffed out his cheeks a bit “It’s a trap….eh?” Rachel just started at him like he was insane.

Tom sighed and shook his head. “Look, the network there is tapped. Jenn behind the bar monitors all of it and lets me know what’s going on. I saw all of Kurt’s messages to Vicki about some big score and we setup the ambush.”

The back of the truck popped open and Joe casually tossed Vicki’s deactivated body in the cargo area. “Wait so you used me as bait?” Rachel shouted. “You knew they might try to kill me and you let me walk into it anyway?” Tom gave a small guilty shrug. “You’re a jerk!” she snarled as she punched him in the shoulder.

“Owwww hey,” Tom winced and rubbed his shoulder.

“You deserved that,” Jo snipped and she dropped Clamps’ legs into the back.

Rachel scowled and he held up his hands in mock surrender. “Ok Ok I’m sorry. Let me make it up to you. We’ll get you some new clothes and drop you off where you need to go. Ok?”

Rachel’s face faded. “I don’t have anywhere to go now. If this is all fake, the Ack, sanctuary, everything, then I’m out of options. If I enter a MetroZone anywhere I’m going to get flagged immediately and ether returned to my company or handed over to the Fed. I can’t stay out here; I don’t have any money left and I doubt there’s much demand for corporate accounting. Either way I’m going to end up scrapped. You might as well just shoot me now and toss me in the back.”

Tom sighed and looked back at Jo, fresh off depositing Kurt’s headless chassis. “What?” she shrugged. “You know the right thing to do. I’m not your Lemony Snicket.”

“Jiminy Cricket,” Tom grumbled. “If you would just sit still and watch those movies with me you wouldn’t….” his rant stopped as he realized she had walked away. He turned back to Rachel, “Ok fine. You can stay with us for a while. We’ll see what we can do to get you sorted out…I guess I owe you that much.” Rachel nodded and turned away from him to look forwards out the windshield. He slipped out and helped Jo police up the what was left, from brass casings to dropped weapons and Kurt’s head. Less than 10 minutes later they drove away slowly over the dark sandy roads. Jo looked about as Tom drove. He pulled out a mobile and tapped it a few times.

“Hey there chief what’s up?” a jolly male voice blurted from the phone.

“Hey Mack. Slight change of plans. I’m going to need a pickup at Rendezvous Echo Three. ETA ten minutes. Also reach out to Charlie to swing by for a scrap estimate when he can. Two customs, heavily damaged, one standard, minor damage, couple guns and ahhhhh….” he leaned over trying to look at the vehicle console.

“Rendilli Cliffjumper….SES……2078” Jo piped in.

“Hey there Jo…..roger that chief. I’ll see if I can raise him. See you in ten.” Mack replied before Tom cut the line.

Rachel looked out the window at the passing pine trees and scrub brush. She pulled the jacket tight around her and hoped tomorrow would be a better day.

• • • end Chapter 2****

And as before, some inspirational pictures:

• 
  Clamps, Hulk of the Pinebarrens
• 
  Vicki, Punk bitch with a bounty
• 
  Bounty Hunter Tom, full of bad puns and dated references
• 
  Jo, Tom's very patient partner

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Tom pulled the truck to a stop just as the eastern horizon started to glow. He and Jo hopped out of the car and Rachel quickly followed. She looked about and saw that they were in the parking lot of a long abandoned high school. In the dim morning light, she could make out bleachers, tennis courts and a baseball diamond; imagining what this place might have been like before the war. Besides their newly acquired truck the lot was empty save for a few old shipping containers with the doors busted open.

She was about to ask why there were standing around when she saw a cargo truck pull into the lot and come to a stop next to them. It was almost completely silent and she only noticed it by the slight creek of its brakes. It was a late model, fusion electric tractor trailer, and seemed very out of place among the run-down surroundings. “Hey there chief,” Mack’s voice chirped from the cab-less truck. “I talked to Charlie and he’ll be by later this morning. Said we’d have an estimate by nightfall.”

Tom patted the side of the truck and smiled. “Thanks Mack. Can you drop the back?”

Rachel followed Tom and Jo past the windowless trailer to the low whine of the rear door lowering to the ground. Up the ramp she could see a well-organized workshop / armory with a workbench on one side and many different guns hung on the opposite wall. Both Tom and Jo took a minute to unload and hang their rifles along with pistols, blades and what looked like grenades that she didn’t even know they were carrying. “What is this place?” she mumbled as she followed them inside the well-lit room.

Tom smiled and gestured about. “This is our mobile command center…or effectively home on the road. You’re in the workshop now. We can prep any of our weapons for a job or if need be, tear apart any bounties afterwards. Fortunately, we were able to get their processor cores intact so we won’t have to do any reconstructions this time to claim our bounties.” Tom took off his armored vest and hug it up before popping off his boots and trading them for a pair of slip on sneakers. “If you’ll follow me, I’ll give you the grand tour.”

Tom led Rachel through a narrow door into a surprisingly open living area. “Here’s the main living and working space. Kitchenette, couch, vidscreen, hell all the walls are vid screens.” He tapped a small panel and the walls flashed for a moment before revealing the outside as if there were giant windows. “Keep going forward and you’ve got a bathroom with a shower, a couple of bunks and then the master bedroom.” Just then she could feel a little movement as the truck started to accelerate and pull out of the parking lot.

“So, you live here?” Rachel asked, as she took a seat on the couch.

“Eh, not technically,” Tom shrugged. “I have a permanent residence where I get my mail and keep most of my stuff that doesn’t fit in the truck. But this is very useful when we’re on a case for days or even weeks at a time.” He walked over to the fridge and popped it open. Rachel craned her neck and could make out one shelf almost entirely filled with beer, another filled with soda and energy drinks and then some condiment bottles mixed in with takeout containers. There was a little rattling of glass as he fished out a bottle of beer and popped the top on a wall mounted opener. He made his way over to another couch opposite to where Rachel was sitting, groaning as he sunk into the cushions. “Ugggg it’s been a long day.”

“Where are we going now?” Rachel asked as she nervously looked out the ‘windows’.

Tom took a sip from his beer. “Don’t worry, nowhere were folks might spot you. There’s a field office in Princeton where we can drop the cores and collect our bounty. We’ll be there in a couple of hours and then we’ll see what other cases we want to take. There’s a lot out there, and Jo and I have built up a our credibility so we generally get our pick.”

The door to the back room opened and Jo casually walked through. “Rifles are cleaned and stored. Cores are logged and in the transfer case ready to go. Mind if I get cleaned up? I was lying in the sand to line up those shots and I just feel kind of grimy.”

Tom nodded and smiled. “Go right ahead. I’ll hop in after you.”

Jo nodded and proceeded towards the front of the trailer. She stopped at a set of cabinets near the bathroom and casually started to strip out of her clothing, depositing it in a hamper. Tom seemed to pay it no mind but Rachel couldn’t help but stare as the woman was quickly stark naked. Even from here she could spot the faint seam lines and markings indicating that Jo was a synthetic. She didn’t recognize any logos but she could see that not all the markings were of the same style, indicating after market modifications or repairs.

Jo had long arms and legs and a rather slender torso but Rachel could see from the way her synthetic muscles moved that she still had considerable power. Her skin was a very pale cream and her red nipples stood out on her D cup breasts like cherries on whipped cream. Her sex was completely smooth and Rachel found herself slightly biting her lip at the sight. Just then she met eyes with the other gynoid. Jo gave her a little smile then turned to walk into the shower. Rachel wasn’t sure if the other robot’s shift was to give her a little peek of her ass or just to efficiently enter the bathroom.

“So…um….” Rachel stammered as she tried to collect herself turning back towards Tom. “How did you and Jo get into this sort of work?”

Tom leaned back as he enjoyed his beer. “It’s a bit of a long story but Jo and I served together during the war. I used to live not too far from here up in Little Silver. I was just finishing up my last year of high school when the bombs fell and we were evacuated. I’d like to claim I enlisted out of patriotic duty but it’s probably more accurate to say that with school and college cancelled for the duration, I really didn’t have anything else to do.

“I’ve always had a talent for technology and after testing pretty high I was assigned to one of the new synthetic brigades as a maintenance and repair tech. Sort of a mix between a medic, a mechanic and when things got rough, a rifleman. Jo was one of the synthetics in my unit and she had a bad habit of getting shot up. She was phenomenally effective in her role though. As a result, we spent a lot of time together getting her patched up.

Rachel seemed a bit confused. “Wait she’s a combat unit? I mean she seemed like she could shoot well but she seemed rather…human for a battle mech.”

Tom nodded and chuckled, “Your mistake is understandable, but yes Jo did do a lot of fighting. You see she was from the early war days. Part of the second wave of combat synths. The later models are the ones that look like vaguely humanoid tanks. They are the ones that you see in the movies and what most people think of when they think of warbots.”

Rachel nodded and Tom took another sip before continuing. “When the war first hit, we were way outnumbered. The first wave of synths were very simply repurposed commercial and domestic units. Pretty much every cashier, stock boy, waitress, maid or handybot was programmed in Army green, handed a rifle and sent to the front. They didn’t do too well.”

“Jo was the second wave. She and the rest of the unit were purpose built for combat but adapted off a common commercial design. She’s got a reinforced frame, faster internal networking, powerful motors in addition to the synthetic muscles but the biggest upgrade was the new Mark 15 power supply. Folks knew it wasn’t a perfect approach but it was a midway step to the big boys at the end of the war.

“We were assigned to the Southern theater and right away we saw one of the main flaws of the second wave design, overheating. The Mark 15 gave them more than enough power to really kick ass but if we didn’t keep them well hydrated, you’d start to get burnouts,” Tom paused for another sip. “One of Jo’s more frequent malfunctions as she liked to push things way past the redline.” He paused a moment and seemed to stare off into space as he drank. “Man…I can remember having to hose her and the whole squad down after an intense fight….steam risking from their bodies…..,” a smile grew on his face until he seemed to snap out of it and focus his eyes on Rachel. “Well anyway…..fortunately, she doesn’t have that issue anymore with modern intercoolers and more efficient power nodes.”

“After the war we went our separate ways. I came back home and attended college; Jo was placed in a reserve unit. One thing led to another and I ended up falling into this job, hunting down rogue synths. I realized I couldn’t do it alone and I heard from a friend of a friend that our unit was to be disbanded and all the synths scrapped. I figured it was fate and managed to…well let’s say, liberate her from the salvage bin just in time. Officially she was melted down and turned into a park bench or something but I figured nobody was really going to miss a little more scrap. Some significant upgrades, a little reprogramming and I’ve got my old war buddy back and someone to pull my ass out of the fire when I need it.”

Tom finished his beer just about as the door to the bathroom opened. Jo walked out, still completely naked but with slightly damp hair. “All yours Tom,” she said with a smile as she strode into the kitchen. He got up, and looked her over, realizing that Rachel was seeing all that he could. He gave Jo’s bare rear a little pat as he slipped by her in the narrow hallway. She made for the kitchen as he started to strip and deposit his clothing in the same hamper drawer. His bare chest now revealed, Rachel could clearly see several more scars. He wasn’t heavily muscled but still kept toned. He lacked the inhuman perfection of form that Jo maintained but Rachel still found herself staring a bit. He stepped out of his pants and was just about ready to drop his boxers when he caught her looking. He pretended not to notice but grabbed a towel and slipped into the bathroom quickly.

“Need something to drink?” Jo chimed in from the kitchen. Rachel turned her attention to the other gynoid and shook her head. “Ok then,” she replied, taking a silver bottle from the cabinet. She cracked the lid, tipped her head back and downed the whole thing in two gulps. After securing the empty bottle she walked over and took Tom’s spot on the couch opposite Rachel. She reached under the couch and pulled out a power adapter setting it on the seat next to her. “How about a charge?”

“Sure thanks,” Rachel replied as she found herself once again staring at the still very naked gynoid. Jo looked around in a nearby drawer for a bit and then tossed over the appropriate charger. Jo turned back to her charger, attaching it to a floor outlet and then spreading her legs and plugging the other end to a previously hidden inner thigh port. Rachel found herself inhaling as she saw the robot’s bare lips on open display. “So, Tom was telling me how you two served together in the war and how he found you afterwards.”

Jo nodded and smiled, leaning back and placing her arms up on the back of the couch. “Yes, I was in pretty bad shape back then. I still had some lingering combat damage and six years of rough storage in a leaky Conex hadn’t been kind.”

Rachel fumbled about a bit but managed to connect her own charger, enjoying the flow of power. Realizing she didn’t have much need to cover up in present company she let Tom’s jacket fall to the side leaving her only in a bra and panties. “You look fantastic,” she blurted out. “I would have never guessed from how you look now.”

“Gee thanks,” Jo replied with a smile, “Your chassis is pretty lovely as well.” Rachel blushed as Jo let the comment hang in the air for a few moments. “But Tom did have his work cut out for him. I needed a new coolant system, motor control subprocessors, a full replacement of my dermal layer, and half a dozen other repairs. On top of that he sprung for a full sexual package with aftermarket oral, vaginal and anal ports as well as these,” she chuckled as she cupped her bare breasts and jiggled them, “aren’t exactly standard Army issue. And then there was the reprogramming. Military grade access and ownership protocols aren’t easy to override but he managed to get it done.”

Rachel nodded; her eyes still locked on the naked gynoid. “So, Tom reprogrammed you then and took ownership? I’m just a little surprised. You seemed quite defiant before. I’ve never known an owned synthetic to speak like that.”

Jo chuckled as she shifted her legs a bit. She knew Rachel was watching her, sizing up her responses and she was doing the same thing. “It’s not quite as nefarious as you might think. My core operating system and protocols are still military and require a chain of command to function properly. If Tom didn’t install himself as my owner and Master, I would not be able to properly function. And he’s a good guy. He gives me a lot of autonomy and worked very hard to keep my original personality matrix and memories intact during my retrofit. It would have been much easier and safer for him if he just wiped me completely and started over.”

“Safer?” Rachel asked.

“Yea,” Jo nodded spreading her legs again and watching the other robot’s physical response. Jo could tell she was focused and based on the rising heat from between her legs she was growing aroused. “When he….acquired me I still had my core Army programming. Even though I knew Tom, I also knew that he was no longer my registered tech or admin at that point. So, if he screwed up the process and I regained control my programming would have made me kill him and then report the attempted theft to my superior officer.”

Rachel just stared in silence thinking of how she might have killed someone trying to save her. “So you can see how I wasn’t exactly upset that he reprogrammed me,” Jo explained. “I appreciate the risk he took to preserve who I am. And I happily serve him now. And don’t worry he’s not going to try to reprogram you without your explicit consent.”

Rachel shook her head. “He couldn’t do that anyway. My programming cannot be externally accessed. It’s for security purposes for my job. Makes me nearly unhackable.”

Jo shrugged. “Yea I heard something about that before. I guess that’s good in a way, but does make some things a bit more difficult. If I want to fly a vertibird or speak Mandarin I can download a data pack and be ready in a few minutes. You’ve got to learn it like a human.” She chuckled and waved it off. “Eh but don’t worry about it. We’re already slowed down by one human; you’re not going to make it any tougher.”

Jo ran her fingers through her short red hair as Rachel shifted her gaze to the bathroom door. She thought about Tom, and in her flustered state her mind wandered to imagining him in the shower. Jo, still observing the other gynoid smiled. “You know if you want to fuck him you can just ask. I’m sure he’d be happy to.”

“What?? No I ummm” Rachel stammered, blushing and casting her eyes to the ground.

“It’s ok,” Jo laughed and smiled. “But that reaction told me that you really do. And no, I haven’t hacked the unhackable girl.” She tapped the side of her nearly shaved head. “Tom got me a human language analysis pack a few months back. Normally I don’t get to use it much but your programmed responses are pretty much spot on. But really, I’m sure he’d love to; you’re pretty hot, especially without the suit.”

“Really?” Rachel asked looking up. Jo nodded and watched as the other gynoid’s shoulders relaxed. “Wait so you’re not having sex with him? I just assumed when you mentioned the sexual upgrades that you were…”

“Oh yea we’re fucking,” Jo smiled causing Rachel to blush more. “You’re right he wouldn’t have paid for this high-end hardware if he wasn’t going to use it. But, I’m not programmed for jealously. I know my value to Tom and it’s more than just sex.” She paused a moment and spread her legs a bit more. Her hand reached down and spread her smooth hairless lips apart to give a little peak at her well-designed inner folds. “And if you’d like, I’d be more than happy to join you.”

Rachel once again found herself staring “Well I umm, it’s just that….well…I’ve never actually done anything….sexual. I’m equipped and functional but my company had a very strict policy and until the day I fled I very rarely even left the building. I’ve always been curious but I’ve just never had the opportunity. I’ve tried to learn, you know watching videos and such….lots of videos, but never actually doing.” She nervously rubbed her hands together and shuffled her feat as she spoke.

Jo smiled and shifted her hand from her lips to the plug in her leg, popping it free and closing the port. She stood up smoothly and crossed the short distance to stand right next to Rachel. She placed on foot on the couch next to the other gynoid and stretched a little. “I’d be very happy to teach you.” She watched as Rachel stared at her. “Have you ever been this close to another naked woman?” she asked. Rachel silently shook her head.

Jo steadied herself placing one hand on Rachel’s shoulder as she reached down and slowly spread open her lips. Before Rachel’s eyes Jo’s high-end pussy grew flushed and then quickly started to glisten. “You can touch if you’d like,” she cooed. Rachel nodded slowly. Her hand lifted and slowly raised towards its target. She hesitated, just short, and could feel the heat radiating off the fully activated hardware. Jo smiled and patiently waited. Eventually the tip of Rachel’s middle finger lightly brushed Jo’s inner lips. The standing gynoid groaned a little and the moisture visibly increased. “No don’t stop….it feels good.” Jo encouraged.

Rachel nodded again and slowly began to explore more. She glided her fingers over her inner folds, then the outer lips, discovering and learning. She always considered herself a quick study and once tried to do this to herself after watching many videos of women doing the same. Unfortunately, her body didn’t respond and she quickly gave up on the idea but she had knowledge of the local geography. Jo was different, well the parts were mostly the same, at least from a high level, but her body responded. Rachel could feel the increase in heat and lubrication; watching the synthetic tissues swell and move. Growing bolder she found the entrance to her vaginal port and slowly slid one finger inside. Jo groaned loudly and licked her lips. Rachel could feel the texture and was a little surprised when the passage squeezed her tightly. Nervous she pulled her hand free and looked down to see her fingers coated in Jo’s lubricant.

“It’s ok, you were doing well,” Jo reassured her. “Here use two fingers this time.” She gently grasped Rachel’s hand and guided her back into her slit. “Yes, in and out a little bit,” she instructed, gently holding the other robot’s wrist. When she had the pattern, Jo released her and shifted to fondle her exposed breast.

Rachel worked diligently, watching as her fingers slid in and out, how Jo’s lips responded, her gentle squeezing and something else. She sniffed lightly. “You smell very sweet……tropical almost?” Rachel asked a bit confused.

Jo nodded and groaned, her fingers working her nipples. “Gnnn huh…….I told you…advanced hardware. I am equipped with three scent and flavor packs……Tom’s fond of mango…….you can taste it if you’d like.” Rachel smiled and nodded, before slowly starting to pull her fingers free. Jo’s hand snapped down to grab the other gynoid’s wrist and push her back inside. “No not that way…..like this.” Her other hand caressed the back of Rachel’s head. Her fingers weaved through her dark, long hair and she pulled the shy robot’s face towards her. She applied enough pressure to make her wishes known but not so much to force it.

Rachel was surprised but didn’t resist. Her lips landed right on to top cleft of Jo’s lips. She inhaled and was filled with the fruity scent. She knew what came next from her ‘research’ and opened her mouth. Her tongue crept down between the other robot’s labia. She surmised she found Jo’s clit when her partner gasped and clenched her fingers on the back of her head. She smiled a bit and started to work the tongue up and down savoring the flavor and the knowledge that she was performing satisfactorily.

“What the fuck?” Tom mumbled. He stood near the bathroom door with a towel wrapped around his waist. “Jo what are you doing?”

Rachel tried to pull back out of embarrassment but Jo held her head in place. “Oh hello there….Master,” she moaned. Her free hand reached up to cup her breast, lifting it before letting it fall. “I’m just teaching our new friend here a few things. She’s been cooped up in her office her whole life and never had a good fuck. Would you care to join us?”

And as before, some inspirational pictures:

• 
  Mack the Truck
• 
  Home on the road
• 
  Mack's armory

Chapter 4

Tom spent several moments staring slack jawed at the two gynoids in front of him. Jo was completely nude, as he had left her, but now she was standing right in front of Rachel, with the woman’s head pushed between her legs. Her explanation that Rachel was a virgin made sense given the girl’s previous situation, and he had hoped something might develop with time; he just wasn’t expecting quite this rapid progress.

Tom suddenly felt the towel drop from his waist and hit the floor. The pressure from his rapidly rising cock disturbed the lose towel roll he had going. He gasped at the suddenly feeling of cooler air and his cock bounced up now free of the weight of the towel. He quickly reached down to grab it trying to re wrap it a few times before realizing it wasn’t going to stay on its own. He frowned and resigned himself to just holding it closed for the moment.

“Jo,” Tom directed. “Let her head go.” He was a little worried part of Jo’s programming might have become too aggressive. Instantly she opened her hand and carefully pulled it back, letting Rachel’s dark hair spill between her fingers. The other gynoid pulled her head away from Jo’s pussy slowly. Tom could see the wet sheen of Jo’s lubricant on Rachel’s face and he smiled a bit as the smell of mango started to slip over to him. He crossed the trailer and came to a stop right next to the two of them. Rachel looked up at him. “Are you ok? I don’t want you to be forced at all.”

“Yes,” Rachel nodded slowly. “I’m ok. Jo was….showing me a few things. I had commented on her mango flavor.”

“Did you like it?” Jo groaned as she fondled her bare breast and looked down at the other gynoid.

Rachel nodded. “It’s very bright and cheerful. Though I must admit my experience with flavors is very limited.” Tom nodded as well staring down at the new gynoid. He could the wet shine of Jo’s juices on her face and something about the way she smiled was very arousing. Jo of course could see all this and she didn’t need any fancy software modules to be able to decompile her Master’s desires. She simulated a few courses of action based on the behavioral model she kept updated for Tom and then executed the one that produced the greatest probability of her desired outcome.

Jo turned to Rachel and smiled “We should work then on expanding your experienced palette. I can tell you that my favorite flavor is…..Master’s cock” she slyly cast a side glance at Tom and could see that the towel was rising steadily. Without shifting her head, her arm snapped over and grasped the towel and quickly pulled it out of Tom’s hand. She tossed it across the room before he could react.

“Hey Jo!” Tom cried as he tried but failed to grab the towel. He didn’t realize in his attempt to secure it that his already very hard shaft would brush against Rachel’s face. She gasped a little at the sensation. The skin was soft and the smell was so different. There was a clean soapy scent but a hit of a natural manly musk. He apparently wasn’t aware of what was happening as he argued with Jo. Rachel took a few deep breaths and then decided to exercise her own personal initiative.

“Oh fuck,” Tom gasped as he felt Rachel’s lips wrap around the head of his cock. He stopped moving and looked down. Her lips had just covered the crown and she was sucking gently.

“That’s a good start dear but here,” Jo interrupted with a smile. She placed her hand on the back of Rachel’s head and slowly pushed down. “Take him all the way in, and then pull back.” She directed the less experienced gynoid for a while, then released her head with Rachel learning quickly. “See doesn’t he taste good. Or maybe I’m just programmed to like the taste of Master.” Rachel mumbled a little as she continued to work. Jo looked over at Tom her hand hovering over her smooth hairless sex. “May I Master?”

Tom looked up at Jo and nodded. Instantly she began to rub herself and started moaning loudly. His eyes jumped back and forth between the new unit working his shaft and Jo enjoying the view. It wasn’t too long before he groaned and his hand started to squeeze Rachel’s shoulder. She could feel the head of his cock start to flare in her mouth and knew what would come next. She pushed her head down and applied gentle suction. As anticipated, he erupted in her mouth with several powerful pulses. She pulled it all in, savoring the sensations. She’d seen this done many times in her ‘research vids’ and was excited to put it into practice. When the pulsing stopped, she swallowed and then slowly pulled her head off his shaft, making sure to leave him clean in the process.

Tom stumbled a bit and leaned against the wall as he tried to catch his breath. “Well….ahhh……thank you,” he panted.

Rachel nodded and smiled. “I hope I did that right. It’s my first time.” Tom nodded slowly still recovering. Meanwhile Rachel tried to figure out what she should do next. She could sense her own arousal and was ready for more. 79.3% of her vid research indicated that further sexual acts would occur after oral sex. “Would you like to do more? I believe I should be sufficiently lubricated if you’d like to….”

“Yea come on Tom,” Jo replied while still rubbing herself. “You’re not going to be a jerk and just leave her hanging, are you?”

Tom shook his head as he tried to recover his breath. “No…no…I’m…..I just need a little time to recover.” His eyes darted back and forth between the two gynoids and he took a deep breath. The truck shook a little on a patch of rough road and he almost fell over. “I’m ahhh…I’m going to go lie down for a bit……give me like, ten minutes and then you can join me.” He turned from the two gynoids and walked away towards the end of the trailer closing the door behind him.

Rachel turned to Jo, who stopped touching herself the moment Tom closed the door. “Did I do that right? I mean aren’t we supposed to do more?”

Jo nodded and sat down next to Rachel. “You did really well. He was obviously pleased with your performance. But you have to remember that unlike a lot of those vids you watched, he’s just human. Human men need a little time to recharge once they’ve climaxed. Plus, I think we caught him a little off guard. We’ll give him a bit of time and then you can head in.”

“You don’t want to come too?” Rachel asked. The thought of being alone with Tom was appealing. She was curious about a lot more and a little worried that Jo and her expertise might overshadow her but she was also nervous without Jo’s guidance.”

“No, I think you’ve got this,” Jo chuckled. “You need to give him the time he asked for and then head in. Close the door behind you, strip down slowly, so he can see you, and then climb into bed with him. Move to engage him but let him take the lead of what he wants to do. He might want to kiss you, or feel your body so let him. He likes to feel like he’s in control, at least at first.”

Rachel nodded slowly, absorbing all the advice. “But isn’t he in control. I mean you were calling him Master back there. I have to admit it caught me off guard after how casually you spoke with him before that.”

Jo chuckled and placed a hand on Rachel’s shoulder. “Oh you’ve got a lot to learn about human men. Yes, technically I am programmed to obey Tom’s orders, and I do so happily. But if you’re observant he’s got programming too. It’s less explicit than ours but you’ll find it can be quite easy to push his buttons to get what you want almost more than if he was a robot.”

Rachel just gave Jo a confused expression. “Ok let me explain,” Jo continued. “I like you. You’ve got a spirit I appreciate and your unique design makes you unprogrammable. That’s exciting and I want you to stick around. I know from my experience with Tom that if you have sex with him, not just once but on a regular basis, he’s much more likely to keep you around. We’ve picked up many different units over the years that for one reason or another we couldn’t collect a bounty for. First of all, if they are male, he sells them immediately. We don’t even bother repairing them. If they’re damaged, he goes right to his scrapper, otherwise they are deactivated and put on the secondary market. Now the ladies, he likes a bit more. But if he doesn’t find them attractive that’s not good and he’s never kept around a unit he hasn’t had sex with. Remember the bartender at Ack? Eight months ago we dropped her as part of an ambush on a dust runner gang. Got the bounties off the others but her record was clean. We fixed her up and after Tom reprogrammed her and we all had some fun he decided to install her at the bar rather than reselling.”

“You don’t think he’s going to try to sell me?” Rachel asked, now a bit nervous.

“Oh no no,” Jo shook her head. “But if we can’t get some attachment happening, he’ll eventually send you on your way. I assume you don’t want to be on your own again.” Rachel shook her head and Jo smiled. “Good then follow my lead.”

“So you see,” Jo continued now smiling widely, “that’s why I started pushing his buttons. I noticed you admiring me and figured I’d roll with it. I know he is fond of threesomes; they make him feel powerful, and when I call him Master I might as well just shoot hormones right into his brain.”

“So I should call him Master too?” Rachel asked.

“No no,” Jo shook her head. “It takes a subtle touch to properly manipulate…ok that’s a bad word….guide him in the right direction. Imagine he’s like a boat on a river. Apply a little pressure in the right place over time and the boat will nicely drift where you want. Push hard and you risk tipping it over. If you called him Master that would flip the boat. He knows he doesn’t own you, and that you barely know him. You should be sweet, curious, and ‘appreciative of him rescuing you’.”

“But didn’t he directly put me in that situation in the first place?” Rachel frowned.

“Yea yea yea,” Jo dismissed. “Just let him think that you owe him and want to pay him back. That will work for him and let us figure out a way that you can fit in here.” She leaned over and gave Rachel a kiss on the lips, soft and slow. “I like you. And I think you’ll be good for us.”

Rachel left kiss with her lips still slightly parted, her eyes half closed. Jo’s lips were soft and warm and tasted a bit of cherries. She blinked a few times returning to the conversation. “But how can you even do this? I mean it just seems like your program wouldn’t allow this, working against your owner’s interests. I mean I couldn’t internally justify leaving or acting against my company until my self-preservation programming triggered.”

Jo smiled and leaned back spreading her legs and resting her arms wide on the back of the seat. “That’s just it. I am working in Tom’s best interests. It’s really for his own good. We’re in a dangerous line of work and he’s got a lot of self-destructive tendencies. If I don’t try to change him, he’s going to end up dead sooner rather than later. If not from a bounty’s bullet from his own self-loathing.” She paused. “Think of it this way. We’re both in a canoe going down river. I can hear the waterfall coming but he can’t and he doesn’t believe me. If he orders me to paddle forwards I must obey. But maybe I can start nudging the boat towards shore. Or just start talking about how much I’m going to suck his cock when we get to shore and he’ll paddle there himself. Either way, we don’t go off the waterfall. At least not that day.”

Rachel sat there silently for a bit. “I think I see your point; though I’m not sure I quite have your skill for it.”

“Then don’t worry about it,” Jo smiled and placed a hand on Rachel’s shoulder. “Just follow my lead and you’ll do fine. “

Several minutes later Rachel carefully opened the door to Tom’s bedroom and slipped inside. He was lying on the bed, still naked. The sheets were mostly pulled back, only barely covering parts of his feet and ankles. He looked up at her and smiled. “I’m glad you decided to join me. I wasn’t sure if it was going to be you or Jo, or both.”

Rachel smiled and stood in front of him, hesitating. “Jo said that I could have you to myself for a while. I am curious to experience more of you and of sex. I’m sure we can do more together at another point in the future.” She waited another few moments and as Tom didn’t initiate anything new she started the next step Jo suggested. “I also wanted to show you how grateful I am that you rescued me.” Reaching up she slid on bra strap off her shoulder, then the next. Her left hand held the front of her bra as she reached behind and skillfully undid the clasp. She smiled at Tom as she could see he was focusing intently, not wanting to miss anything.

Rachel loaded up her strip plan and hesitated to drop the bra, letting Tom’s anticipation build for several seconds. Eventually she let the simple garment fall to the floor and smile as she let him see her bare breasts for the first time. She was worried he might not like them but his bio responses told her he was quite well satisfied with her D cup breasts. Her nipples were already growing hard from the arousal as she watched his shaft start to stiffen and grow. She wasn’t in control of her body as much as someone like Jo was, and the response of her nipples or her rapidly lubricating genitals were the domain of her firmware and outside of her direct control.

Rachel started breathing faster and was almost ready to jump on the bed when she realized she had one more step. She smiled at Tom again and turned around. Bending over she gave him a nice view of her firm ass, then slowly slid the panties down. Her rear was smooth and round and he could just barely catch a glimpse of her lips before she wiggled her butt a little and stood back up, stepping out of her panties. She looked back at him, seeing that his eyes were still firmly locked on her now naked body. She then turned around slowly and let him drink in her fully exposed form. Her hips weren’t too wide and what he could see of her pussy was smooth, hairless and mostly hidden by her outer lips.

Just then Rachel realized she had never been naked in front of a human before. She’d been stripped down plenty of times at work but it was always by the synthetic tech support in the lab. She was worried that her body wouldn’t be pleasing to a human but judging from Tom’s once again very hard cock he was quite fond of her appearance. She let him drink in her body for almost a minute before she slowly approached the bed. She crawled into the bed, feeling the soft flannel against her skin, again a first time feeling the fabric or being in a human bed.

Tom shifted as Rachel moved up closer to him and she was caught off balance. She’d never been on a bed before and certainly not with someone else so the sudden shifting of his cheap mattress caused her to lose her balance and fall on top of him. “Offff, you ok?” he chuckled as he slowly wrapped his arms around her, one hand on her back and the other holding her bare rear.

Rachel’s eyes fluttered, so many new sensations all at once. She could feel her chest pressed against his; sensing the slight sweat on his skin, the compression of her breasts, and the sudden warmth. She shifted a little and shuddered when the tip of his very much erect cock teased her labia. She bit her lip as she realized he asked her a question. “Yes yes…I’m ok. Sorry, must have umm been a bump in the road.” She shifted again teasing her lips against his tip and groaning in the process.

Tom looked up at her as she shifted and lifted her body slightly up on her arms. “Are you sure? I don’t want to force anything.”

“Yes…I’m sure,” Rachel replied. She shifted her hips again, knowing the general idea of what needs to happen but failing in the execution.

Tom smiled, “Ok good…Here let me help just a bit.” He grasped her hips and shifted his body up just a few inches. Then holding her hips he slowly pulled her down. She could feel as the tip of his shaft pushed aside her lips and then slid inside her lubricated port.

“Oh ffffnnnn,” Rachel groaned. “I’ve never..I” She licked her lips and looked down at him.

“Should I stop?” Tom asked, releasing the pressure on her hips.

“No,” Rachel growled. She shifted her weight back onto her hips and quickly sunk down on his shaft. She moaned loudly and lifted herself up almost perpendicular to Tom. She had been curious about sex for a very long time, and had even penetrated herself several times just to see what it felt like but this was very different. She wasn’t sure if it was something physical or because of her programming but this felt so much better. She started to move her hips, grinding against him and then rising and falling on the shaft.

Meanwhile Tom laid back and enjoyed the show. He had planned on taking a more aggressive role with Rachel, since she was less experienced but she seemed to take to it very quickly. He just smiled and watched her ride him. Many of the robots he’d fucked over the years had programming to appear to be enjoying sex, but hers was different; it seemed genuine though there was a distinct combination between surprise and excitement. He let her do her thing for several minutes but the sight of her bouncing breasts was more than he could handle. He reached up and cupped them, sliding his thumbs over her nipples.

“Oh fuck,” Rachel moaned, pushing her chest into Tom’s hands. “Oh you feel so good. I love this…I want to do this all the time.” Her hips started to move faster and she bounced up and down harder. The bed started to creek and passion grew on her face.

Tom just smiled, “Don’t worry there’s plenty of time for that.” He was truly impressed with her passion, curious if it was just a very convincing program or something unique to her architecture. His right hand left her breast and he could hear a slight sigh as he did so. He slid his hand down her body and gripped her hip. His thumb reached down over her hairless mound, between her lips and easily found her engorged synthetic clit. He pressed on it gently and saw her eyes pop open widely.

Tom paused to make sure he didn’t go too far and she took a deep breath. “No don’t stop…more,” she groaned. He just smiled and started rubbing in slow, tight circles. Her eyes bugged out and nearly crossed but she kept up her furious grind. A few moments later she seized up. Her right hand snapped up and pressed his hand into her breast while her left grasped his hand on her clit. Her vaginal module started to spasm and she cried out. “What’s….what’s happening?????????” She kept moaning and riding him. Tom could see the door to the room crack open as Jo peeped inside. She gave him a thumbs up and a nod and he nodded back. She quietly closed the door but before it was completely shut he could see Jo’s hand was firmly between her legs.

When the orgasm hit its peak, Tom pulled his hands back and let Rachel collapse on top of him. She panted, blowing hot air over him and most likely trying to cool her systems. “That…was amazing,” Rachel gasped. He twitched his cock inside her and her eyes went wide again. “More….I want more.” She popped back up and went right back to riding him, even going so far as to take his hands and return them to her breast and clit.

Tom rode through two more full orgasm cycles and Rachel was moving on to her 4th for the day when she pushed him over the edge. His hands shifted to her hips and ass and the thrust himself deep inside her. Rachel could feel his cock head flare twice inside her before it erupted. It was another brand-new sensation and it triggered an immediate and intense orgasm of her own. The two climaxed together and then collapsed on the bed after. Tom shifted his body and pulled himself free as he panted and tried to catch his breath. Rachel moaned in disappointment. “No more?” she asked pulling herself next to him.

“The spirit is willing,” Tom panted…..” but the flesh is spongy and bruised. I need some time….maybe later tonight.”

Rachel nodded and searched her memories of the sexual vids for appropriate behavior in this situation. Most of her research ended differently with the male ejaculating on the female’s breasts but she was happy to feel him do that inside her. In the few vids where internal orgasm was the case the majority ended shortly thereafter and one or more partners left. She was tempted to ‘cuddle’ next to him but unsure how it would be received given her high temperature and his apparent overheating. Deciding instead to play it safe, she rolled out of bed and gathered her underwear. Looking back she could see his eyes were mostly closed as he panted and tried to recover. She smiled at him and then slipped out, closing the door behind her.

Jo sat on the far side of the trailer and waved Rachel over, a wide smile on her face. “That sounded good,” she chuckled as she patted the seat next to her. She was still very much naked but the physical signs of arousal had faded. “So tell me, how did it go?”

Rachel quickly made her way over to sit next to Jo. “It was amazing,” she giggled. “I mean I’ve explored myself before out of curiosity but he felt much, much better. I mounted him and managed to achieve three orgasms before he ejaculated inside my vaginal port. The feeling for some reason triggered another very powerful orgasm; very different than when he did it in my mouth. I was ready to continue when he indicated he needed to stop.”

Jo chuckled and bit her lip a bit as her visual subsystems simulated what the scene must have looked like. “Yea you’ll find that most human men are only good for one shot before they need to recharge, and that time goes up with the number of shots. From his past record there’s a good chance loverboy up there won’t be ready to go again until at least tonight, if not tomorrow.”

“Oh,” Rachel replied, looking a little disappointed. “Ok….it just seems so limiting.”

Jo smiled and stood up, placing a hand on Rachel’s shoulder. “Calm down there. There’s plenty of time for that later. And if you’re really that frustrated, I’m sure we can have more fun on our own. But for now, we should both get dressed. We’ll be at the courthouse in about an hour and if we’re still naked when Tom wakes up, there’s a small chance we’ll lose the whole afternoon.” She walked over to the cabinet closer to the bathroom and Tom’s room, pulling out a fresh set of clothes. “You can go cleanup if you want to, I’ll see if I can put your clothes through a quick cycle in the fresher.”

Rachel nodded and slipped into the bathroom, letting out a long, satisfied sigh as she closed the door behind her.