bluefishcake
patreon
Sexy Space Babes - Mechs, Maidens and Macaroons: Chapter Sixteen
🕑 Added 2025-07-15 11:31:41 +0000 UTC“Alright,” he said as he turned back to them, carefully placing his cutlery bag to the side. “Why were you trying to break into my apartment Sabine?"
The Ulnus titled her head, though not far enough that Sabine’s tied up form would leave her cone of vision.
Or so he assumed. He still wasn’t totally sure how the whole Ulnus ‘vision’ thing worked. Still, given her need to twist her head, it seemingly wasn’t omni-directional.
"S’probably a stalker,” Jelara said flatly.
That, more than anything else that had happened to her since trying to break into his apartment, seemed to annoy the French woman. Though only for a moment, before her mask slid back into place and she chuckled softly.
"Stalker? Oh, darling, you wound me. Non non, I’m nothing so pedestrian and unrefined.”
Mark sighed, dragging a hand through his disheveled hair as he sank onto the cot beside Jelara.
Ah, that felt good.
He really didn’t want to be dealing with this right now. All he really wanted was to shower and go to sleep.
“No, she's not a stalker. Or at least, she’s not just a stalker." He enjoyed the way she twitched a little at that. “She’s a member of the human rebellion back on Earth. Like I used to be.”
He didn’t see much point in hiding it – even as Sabine huffed in irritation – because Krenheim wasn't Imperial territory. It was an independent world. And whatever crimes he might have committed on Earth held about as much weight as farts on the wind out here.
There certainly weren’t any extradition treaties in place for him to worry about.
And while that didn’t mean he had any plans to go around advertising exactly why he was really here on Krenheim, he figured he owed Jelara the truth of why she’d gotten herself half-pummeled while trying to restrain what she thought was a crazy stalker trying to gain access to his apartment.
Or at least, what she thought was just a crazy stalker.
As he’d said, being a spy for the resistance didn’t preclude his former-lover and tutor in said arts from being a stalker. Because there were few ways to interpret him not responding to her messages beyond ‘not interested’.
….Still, she was here now – and he was going to hear her out for that reason alone, so he supposed the joke was on him, because her plan to break into his apartment to get his attention had actually worked in a roundabout way.
He watched as Jelara's core flickered, a brief surge of brighter blue rippling through her form as she processed her words.
“Oh,” she said finally.
And that seemed to be all she planned to say for the moment. Which was fine by him. He could answer any questions she might have later. For the moment, he had questions of his own for his uninvited guest.
“So, why are you here Sabine?” he asked.
"You've been ducking my calls," she said, her tone light but edged with reproach. "Not very polite, Mark. Especially after all the fun we had together on the ride over. I thought we had something special?"
Perhaps if he’d not spent the last two hours having his balls drained by a very enthusiastic Pesrin, he might have flushed a bit at those words. He did however notice that the words seemed to have jolted Jelara from the quiet introspection she’d fallen into after the revelation of his rebellious ties was unveiled. Suddenly, the slime woman leaning forward again, featureless gaze trained on both him and Sabine.
"The only thing special about it was that we agreed it was a casual fling,” he shot back. “Not the prelude to me being a pawn in whatever game you’re playing here on Krenheim.” He frowned. “Actually, before we get into any of that, how did you even know I had any ties to the resistance whatsoever?”
Sabine's lips curved into a knowing smile. “Cells talk, cher. Not all – we’re not all friends - but some. Mine and yours happened to have some small connection. Enough that when your people discovered you were headed to Krenheim, they notified my own people, given they knew we had interests in the region. Of course, I didn’t get that info until we’d been on Krenheim for a week. Snail mail and all that.”
Mark's jaw tightened.
They’d informed Sabine of his presence but not him of hers.
…Not that he really expected any different.
He’d been a contact. A resource. Not really an actual member. And once more he’d been treated like a resource.
Not like Sabine. Just looking at how relaxed she was while tied to a chair, it was clear she was something entirely different. He’d say she reminded him of Raven, but to be frank, he was pretty sure Sabine was a few levels up from even that.
"Well, whatever our mutual friends back home might have told you about my past actions,” he said. “I can tell you that for the present and the future I’ve no interest in playing rebel. Doing that was what got me kicked off Earth in the first place. I figure I’ve paid my dues.”
Again, he was very much aware that Jelara was silently listening to all this, but he didn’t really care. It was nothing he was ashamed of.
Sabine, for her part, tilted her head, her expression softening just a fraction, though her eyes remained sharp. "Yes, I had a feeling that was the case. Unfortunately for both of us, I can’t really afford for you to have, as you Americans say, ‘cold feet’.”
“S’not really your choice to make,” he said.
“No, it’s not,” Jelara echoed – which warmed his heart a little.
…Even if part of him felt a little like some damsel in distress being rescued by a street savvy bad boy.
“And you’d be correct in that,” Sabine said cheerily. “I can’t force you to do anything. Not least of all because it’s not really my style. I prefer my contacts to be more… enthusiastically compliant.”
Mark ignored the purr in that bit of innuendo, as he pointedly glanced at the woman’s liberally duct-taped limbs."Oh, so breaking into my place wasn’t an incredibly cliché attempt at intimidating me into complying with… whatever the fuck you apparently need me for?”
And to be honest, he really had no idea what she’d want him for. He was a chef. His role in the resistance had amounted to overhearing things in the course of his work and passing them along. That was it. His usefulness had more been a matter of proximity than actual skill – and even then, he wasn’t entirely sure if anything he’d ever passed along had actually turned out to be useful.
Ignorant of his thoughts, Sabine chuckled again. "Intimidation? Hardly. As I said, enthusiastically compliant. This was simply the easiest way to get in contact with you given you’ve been ignoring my messages.”
Jelara scoffed, her core bubbling with a low, watery rumble that echoed like distant thunder. Sabine shot her a brief frown, eyes narrowing before she refocused on Mark.
“Well, I suppose, it might have also served to jog your memory a bit. Remind you of why you chose to join the fight for Earth’s freedom to begin with.”
Mark frowned, but Sabine just smiled.
“I wonder, how many people back on Earth also stumbled home today to find they also have uninvited guests,” she said casually. “Maybe they’ll have a pair of militia enforcers sitting on their couch, or they’ll have a full interior black-bag team standing in the living room. Either way, unlike you, I doubt any of our people will have a plucky Ulnus neighbor to step in and play the hero."
There was just a hint of resentment at those last words, which made Jelara chuckle, the sound like a bubbling brook as her form rippled with amusement at Sabine's expense.
For his part, Mark wanted to laugh too, and then to tell Sabine to fuck right off and take her 'reminders' with her.
Because what did Earth matter to him now? He’d done what he could. He’d been burned. And now he’d probably never see home again.
Hell, the resistance had been all-too happy to cut him off like a diseased limb.
But her words had struck a chord with him, despite his best attempts to avoid it.
Truth be told, it wasn’t the night itself that bothered him so much. Lying hog-tied on the floor of his apartment while a squad of purps rifled through his things had been uncomfortable, sure. But he’d lived through the invasion itself and the tumultuous years afterwards. A little mortal terror for an hour or two was nothing new.
No, the rage had come afterward. When he’d looked online to see what recompense he could expect. What laws there were to protect him if those Shil had simply chosen to take him in spite of the lack of evidence.
And found nothing.
The Imperium was good to its people as a rule of thumb. Social programs, safety nets, healthcare and infrastructure all saw heavy investment under Shil’vati rule. Indeed, it would invest considerable resources into seeing to the protection of even its most distant colonies.
But the Imperium was only good to you right up until it wasn’t.
Mark had no illusions about Earth before the invasion. Even if he hadn’t really swallowed any of the thinly veiled propaganda they’d pushed in the final years of his schooling, he’d read and heard enough to know that pre-invasion Earth hadn’t exactly been some perfect haven for humanity.
Still, at least in his home country, there’d at least been a lip-service towards basic rights. The Imperium didn’t have that. Merely an understanding that while it provided certain privileges, they were entirely at the discretion of the state.
And as a result, those privileges could be taken away without rhyme or reason if the state believed it was in its own best interest. Because the government of the Imperium did not see itself as being in service of the people who comprised it.
No, it was expected that the people existed to serve the state.
And that was an important distinction. One that had hammered home in the very moment he’d been considered not to be an asset to the state but a possible threat.
That was not a government he could in good conscience support.
And unfortunately for him, that hadn’t changed, because Sabine saw the crack in his armor for what it was - and pressed.
“Please Mark. We’re close to our goal of human freedom. Closer than we ever thought possible just a few years ago.”
Mark sighed, even as he brought up the one argument that every rebel knew in their heart of hearts to be true.
At least, outside the truly delusional.
“Earth’s never going to be free of the Imperium. The empire’s too large and Earth is too deep in their territory,” he sighed.
That didn’t make resistance pointless, and he knew it, but he felt the need to at least pretend to be resistant to Sabine’s arguments.
And he was utterly unsurprised when Sabine scoffed. “Earth doesn’t need to force the Empire to give up Earth, cheri. At least, not now. Maybe we might in two hundred years, but for the moment the Imperium is going nowhere.”
She smirked. “But war is diplomacy by other means. And war is just code for hurting someone. And make no mistake, we have been hurting them. Factories across the planet aren’t meeting quotas. Incidences of resistance aren’t declining but growing. Troops they definitely need elsewhere are being killed or bogged down. The Empress is undoubtedly getting tired of the ongoing expense to her empire that Earth creates and the nobles she’s installed there know it. Soon, they’re going to want to come to the table to negotiate just to make the damage stop.”
Mark could imagine that.
“The only reason our plan to install a mecha-league on Earth might work is because a number of duchesses are desperate to show the Empress they’re making some progress on bringing humanity around,” she continued. “And a fighting league would be an example of just that.”
“Because it’d be a prime source of easily smuggled weapons for various resistance groups?” Mark said. “You really think the nobility would shoot themselves in the foot by inviting more unrest just to say there’s less?”
Sabine laughed. “Oh, I know they would. My mild mannered business woman alter-ego has received a number of promises to that end.” She sniffed. “With that said, they’re not entirely stupid. I don’t doubt it’s a trap. The league itself will be scrutinized heavily. The Interior likely wants to use it as a honeytrap to locate rebel cells.”
Mark nodded slowly, as he realized where this was going. “So the goal here isn’t really about creating a league.”
Sabine smiled again, but said nothing. And as Mark waited for her to explain more, he realized she had no intention of doing so.
Which, he supposed, wasn’t too surprising. This whole operation sounded fairly involved, and he was ultimately a nobody. The fact that she’d told him as much as she had was likely just an attempt to entice him to actually work with her.
Still… he was interested, in spite of himself. It was clear that, if nothing else, Sabine really did believe in what she was doing here.
“…This is important, right?” he asked.
Sabine regarded him genuinely – or at least, what he hoped was genuinely. “More than you can know, Mark. With the war on, the Imperium doesn’t have the resources to tighten its grip and eat the losses like it would a few years ago. Earth doesn’t really gain much for them either. Not right now. Sooner rather than later, they’ll be forced to accept a hit to prestige if it means saving on real world resources they need elsewhere. And when that happens humanity can negotiate some real changes on Earth. Make our home a vassal state rather than merely a subject.”
Sabine’s eyes glowed. “No nobility. No Interior. No imperial law. Less Imperial oversight everywhere. Autonomy in everything but name. It wouldn’t be true freedom, but it’s as close as we’ll get.”
Then her gaze dimmed as she regarded him again. “But none of that will happen if we don’t take every advantage we can get right now. This war between the Alliance and the Imperium might continue for a hundred years or flare out tomorrow. We have no real way of knowing. So we have to push now. With everything we have.”
Mark swallowed slowly, a strange lump in his throat. “I’m just one guy.”
“And I’m just one woman,” Sabine shot back instantly. “And both our efforts alone amount to little more than a pinprick. But with enough of those, the Imperium will relax its grip.” She eyed him seriously. “Please, Mark.”
He sat there, for what was likely a full minute, while the two women in the room stared silently at him.
Then he relaxed, a certain degree of tension flowing out of him.
"Fine. I'll do it,” he said – before continuing before Sabine’s grin could get too smug. “But only if you lay it all out for me - no bullshit. I don’t need to know the high level stuff. Honestly, I’ll sleep better without it. But stuff relating to me? What exactly you need from me? Why it matters? The risks? Everything."
Sabine paused, reluctance flickering across her face before she nodded slowly. "Agreed."
And with that, she stood up, the duct-tape she’d been covered in falling away like discarded wrapping paper.
“Ah, that’s better,” she sighed – uncaring of the way Jelara now had a rather large pistol trained on her as she stretched in a deliberately sultry manner. “But before we get into any of that, I need your neighbor to leave the room.”
Mark sighed, before glancing at Jelara.
“Jelara, you have my thanks for everything, but would you please give us a little privacy?” he tried to sound as earnest as possible.
Which didn’t make it feel any less like he was kicking an incredibly dangerous and heavily armed puppy as the Ulnus stared back at him, before reluctantly standing up.
“This one knows when she’s not needed,” she said, before glaring at Sabine. “Unlike certain individuals present.”
Sabine just winked at her, which only seemed to get the alien’s hackles up, even as she moved to leave.
Mark watched her go, before turning to Sabine. “Alright, now, I want you to lay out exactly what you need me for and why.”
Sabine hesitated again, before speaking.
And unfortunately for him, the plan sounded as batshit and as mundane as he’d feared.
Like something out of a bad spy movie, he thought.
Unfortunately, it also sounded… doable.
-------------------------
A few minutes later, Mark watched from the doorframe of his apartment as Sabine sauntered toward the elevator, her hips swayed with what was almost certainly an entirely intentional theatrical roll.
Of course, the French had every right to be smug, despite the black eye Jelara had given her.
She’d gotten everything she’d wanted out of him.
Indeed, the only balm to his own pride was that she’d been forced to unveil more of exactly what was going on than she’d wanted.
Still, Mark’s stomach churned at the thought of the plan she’d laid out. Fortunately, the whole thing wasn’t set to kick off for another two weeks – which meant he had ample time to wrestle down the idle second thoughts he was already having.
He really didn’t want to get involved in the spy game again. Hell, he’d barely been in it the first time.
And that was still enough to get me exiled from Earth, he thought.
Still… if things really did shake out the way Sabine suggested, and Earth really did manage to negotiate becoming some sort of… Special Administrative Zone – well, it was possible his exile might not end up being as permanent as he’d feared.
As shameful as it was, that, as much as hopes for Earth’s freedom, was what would likely inspire him to follow through on Sabine’s plan.
Glancing over, he wasn’t surprised to see Jelara still lingering outside, her gelatinous form slumped against the wall next to his door. Her translucent blue core pulsing faintly within her patched bodysuit, the crack in her visor standing out.
He really did owe for tonight. Even if her aid had ultimately been unneeded.
Well, maybe, he thought. I’d have definitely been off-kilter if I’d walked in to find Sabine in my apartment and not tied up like she was.
So yeah, he owed the Ulnus.
Though even with that thought in mind, he hoped she hadn’t been eavesdropping on his discussion with Sabine after she left.
“So, you’re a spy,” the Ulnus said apropos of nothing.
Mark rubbed the back of his neck idly. “Was… barely, though I suppose I am again now.”
Though again, barely was still an apt qualifier. If anything, his qualifications for being involved in Sabine’s plan mostly came down to him being human and having a penis.
Which seemed to be a bit of a recurring theme out here in space, but he tried not to think about that too much.
“Hmmm,” Jelara hummed, her core rippling with a slow, thoughtful pulse. “For what it’s worth, this one respects it.”
Mark raised an eyebrow, surprised. “You do?”
The Ulnus nodded, her form shifting slightly, as if settling more comfortably against the wall. “No idea if you know, but us Ulnus don’t exactly have a great history with the Imperium.”
He did – though only vaguely.
Which was more than enough to know why the two groups had beef.
Because the Imperium had done their usual song and dance with the Ulnus. Only, unlike most planets where they won cleanly or got beaten back, the Ulnus occupied an unfortunate middle-ground.
Not strong enough to beat the Imperium cleanly, but too stubborn to surrender. So, things got bloody. Quickly. In ways that made the scuffle on Earth look like an exercise in peaceful resistance.
To that end, nobody quite agreed on who’d lobbed the first WMD.
Either way, it opened things up to a scale of destruction that most polities in the galaxy preferred to refrain from. And a few years after ‘first contact’ the Ulnus homeworld had been reduced from a thriving aquatic ecosystem to a smoldering, irradiated mudball - its people scattered across the stars like ash on the currents.
Now, ‘Ulnus’ was practically a synonym for pirate in most sectors, their nomadic clans scavenging and raiding to survive. Basically an object lesson, in what exactly ‘resistance at all costs’ meant for the people on the ground.
So yeah, Mark wasn’t too surprised that the Imperium tended to be a bit of a sore spot for most Ulnus.
With that said…
“I didn’t take you as political,” Mark said.
Jelara’s core flickered, a soft burble of laughter bubbling up. “There’s a lot you don’t know about this one.”
He couldn’t argue with that.
Fortunately – at least on that front – after the last half hour, the last thing on his mind was sleep. He felt far too wired.
“Well, I’d be happy to learn more,” he said, managing a tired grin. “I’m not in the mood to cook, but there’s a late-night restaurant nearby I’ve been meaning to try. My treat?”
Jelara’s form rippled, her visor tilting as if considering. Then she hesitated, a faint indigo pulse threading through her core.
“Actually,” she said, her voice slower, “This one was planning to hold off on this until tomorrow, but now’s as good a time as any we guess. This one needs an extra pair of hands for something, and we figure you owe us for tonight.”
Mark didn’t disagree. He’d planned to treat her to dinner as a thank-you for keeping his apartment ‘safe’ - and maybe reward her in other ways afterward if she was interested. Sure, Saria had definitely drained him, but he figured he’d be able to summon a second wind after some food.
“I’m game,” he said.
“Good,” she said. “Don’t worry, it shouldn’t take long. And this one likes to think it will be interesting. If nothing else, it will even the scales on the secrets between us somewhat.”
Mark hesitated. “Jelara, you don’t have to…”
She waved her had dismissively as she walked over to her apartment. “No, this one does not. But this is actually convenient in a way. This one’s not entirely sure she would have been comfortable asking for your help on this if she didn’t have some leverage of her own.”
Mark froze as the Ulnus slipped into her apartment.
…Well, that sounded… ominous.
It didn’t help that he could hear her gurgled chuckling through the door.
“Am I just a magnet for vaguely dangerous women?” he murmured quietly.
Idly, he found himself missing Tenir.
Her only secret was that she was actually a massive dork.
Comments
Thelem
yes, roaches is the imperial slang for them
Ryan Streeter
Wait, are the Ulnus the “roaches” from the first series?!
Jon Arbuckle
duct-taped limbs."Oh
Jon Arbuckle
“Alright,” he said as he turned back to them, carefully placing his cutlery bag to the side. “Why were you trying to break into my apartment “Alright,” he said as he turned back to them, carefully placing his cutlery bag to the side. “Why were you trying to break into my apartment “Alright,” he said as he turned back to them, carefully placing his cutlery bag to the side. “Why were you trying to break into my apartment Sabine?"
Blue Fishcake
Beta readers have it. Regular length :P Which I'm taking as a win! It's not a short chapter on Friday, but I have managed to churn out a regular in four days. Bringing us closer to getting back to Friday! :D
Found&Lost
I thought you said that you were going to do a release on time for a change. /animeGlare
Blue Fishcake
It's coming! And I'm actually quite happy with it. Even if this 'short' chapter is just turning into a regular chapter...
Drunk Pop-Tart
:)
Vilis Veidis
I'm sensing a saturday drop lol
Testcuentafalsa
Jelara is slowly becoming best girl for me, and I sincerely hope she gets not pushed to the side by the "safer" options
Lurkemancer
"He watched as Jelara's core flickered, a brief surge of brighter blue rippling through her form as she processed her words." I'm pretty sure that's supposed to be "as she processed his words" at the end there.
Blue Fishcake
From what I've heard, the first two weeks are the toughest :D Get through them and the instructors should back off a bit. Still basic of course, but they won't be riding herd on you at all seconds of the day and night. Also remember that basic training isn't the military proper. Life won't be like this for your next four years or so. It's just eleven (or however many weeks). Keep it up! Your favorite random internet author believes in you :P
Skonnchy
I don't know if you remember me Blue, I'm using my last 3 minutes of phone time to say: holy fuck the first week of Kapooka is a shock to the system
MarakEvans
Unforrrrrrrtunately... The massive dork might also be vaguely... in a strictly professional capacity.
Zeoncobra
“Earth’s never going to be free of the Imperium. The empire’s too large and Earth is too deep in their territory,” he sighed. I think earth has a better chance of breaking free than Mark thinks. The Imperium is at war with the Alliance and wars are expensive. The war in Iraq cost the US $2.2-3 trillion and Afghanistan $2.3 trillion. Also, the world wars caused the British and French empires to fall apart even though they won because of the cost of the World Wars. Also, the Imperium made a heavy investment on earth and for 12 years earth has failed to make a return on their investment and the occupation is getting more and more expensive. Though the Imperium are a prideful lot and won't let earth go easily. I'm hoping the Imperium would think earth is more trouble than it's worth and they cut earth lose. I rather earth be free than become a vassal. Fuck the Imperium. As for a mech fighting league on earth. That would definitely be popular in Japan. Giant robots are practically a part of Japanese culture.
Moonlightwind
Complaining about hot, dangerous women? Couldn’t be me.
White Neko Knight
Twould be incredibly amusing if humanity was the stone that broke the interior and turned the Empire into a constitutional monarchy.
Trevayne
Good update. I like the presentation of the plot as one of a thousand pin pricks to try to move the political needle rather than a mission impossible project to win.
Vlad Cold
Yup. Not so hot ones went to suffragettes and feminists. Revolutions and protest are kinda their tradition.
Vlad Cold
Apparently, an interesting fact about Jelara's life or Ulnus biology in general awaits us... Poor Jelara, now she has to repair her suit. Sabina is a jerk. I would have charged her for "moral damages" or barring than confiscated her equipment just in principle: if such people think they can walk over you, they're likely to discard you.
22junk
I was sort of dreading this becoming a glorious resistance story because they tend to have some neat “weak point in the Death Star” BS solution, but annoying the Shil until they grant a few more rights is an actually realistic goal. Looking forward to the rest of it.
karl grimm
All the hot French women really are just resistance fighters aren't they?
Richard Anderson
So since I watch way too much anime for a senior citizen I assume part of the plan is Mark becomes a mech pilot.
Loganlee20
Tenir the Otaku is the safest choice and the most fun to tease. Hope we see more of her. But I bet our hero will se more of dangerous women in the future.
Jake the L
Getting a 3-day cliffhanger instead of a week-long one is a nice change of pace
Blue Fishcake
This coming Friday will likely be a short chapter to try and get back on schedule :D
