"Nine-three to Clarke base."
"Yeah. Go ahead."
"We are at Geo-four."
"Ack." The radio operator paused. A guy. "Uh... Good luck."
"Thanks," Kelli snapped, picturing him. Another stud-dude with a big mouth and an overactive imagination. "Nine-three out."
She looked over at Sheristra, who was smirking, and rolled her eyes.
"Men," Sher said.
"Boys," Kelli sneered. "Afraid of the tickle-hands."
That was a running joke in the Patrol. One big bear of a guy had been found after a few hours of abuse, whining hysterically in this really high voice during the whole trip back to Clarke. "Tickle hands tickle hands nooooo don't let 'em get me again, save me from the tickle hands, noooooo..."
The recording had made it to every facility on the planet. Most dudes laughed at it, nervously - they all knew somebody who'd been through it. The women, unless they were infatuated with one of the morons, thought it was post-amusing.
"Well," Sheristra sighed, "let's get it over with."
Geo-four was a rockhound lab, about five hundred k-clicks from its nearest neighbor. Not just any teamo could handle being that far in the dust. The trip from Clarke took nine hours, so the staff had to score well for introversion and isolation.
Radio check-ins had been ignored for more than a Terra-day, and that coincided roughly with the time the last of the three female staffers there left for the capital. It was an old story - as soon as the last woman took off, a plan was executed. Sonic blasters hidden or disabled, radio powered down, doors locked. And then each dude would be cornered, tethered, stripped.
Tickle hands...
Five guys to find.
They almost ran into the first one right inside the main entry. Big black guy, hanging from his wrists. A couple dozen tools had been used on him - feathers, gloves, scrubbers - and they were scattered around the floor, still close enough to be picked up and put back to work.
His back was to them, and he didn't even try to look when they resealed the door. That far gone...
Sher pressed the trigger, bathing the hallway with an omnidirectional burst of ultrasonic waves. Nothing happened - that they could see. Stepping over the chain that held his right ankle out, she looked the guy up and down. Her expression didn't change, but she didn't ride dudes that often anymore.
"Gonna need a ladder," Kelli said.
He stank. Big ol' gym rat. In the end, they had to cut the wrist-chains. Five more minutes were wasted trying to get the guy lucid enough to catch himself, because when that first chain went, he was going to slam right into the opposite wall...
He didn't seem to be able to talk, exactly. Real vacant look. Nobody home. Drooling a lot, the whole deal. Somewhere past thirty T-years, with a lot of grey hair already, mumbling nonstop. It almost sounded like he was a kiddude with a fever. But the tickling was over, and Kelli didn't really get what was so awful about it anyway. Of course, she and Sheristra were safe. The hands had never jumped a female.
They'd had plenty of time to hide the other dudes well, or barricade 'em in.
Kelli hunted around and found him a robe and some mocs, and it took both women to lead him out to the patrollzer. There were powerful u-sonic blasters all over it, and it was the safest place he could be stashed. Obviously he was in no condition to help look for his teamos.
Back inside, Kelli stopped. Something was not right here...
The smell. Sure, the entry still reeked like tickled-black-dude, but that wasn't it.
Of course. She remembered this from when they rescued the crew in Fab-seven. No smoke. Dudes without cigars? It was hard to imagine. From the time they were old enough to hold 'em, even the religious ones - since the biorehab drugs were everywhere now. It was tradition.
Kelli, she only smoked after pounding the pad. And even then it had to have been just post-good. But for guys, it was automatic. Closing out every ceremonial honor and event a dude could want. Three centuries of colonization fleets had seen to that. Cigars, and herbs, and naturally there was always alk...
It was odd, here, to walk back in and not see the usual haze in the air. The contrast in Fab-seven had been seriously unnerving, too. Thirty rough teamos assigned there, mostly Kiwis. Caught. The silence was all wrong, and that was one thing. But no smoke at all? Well, that was almost scary. Except for places where there was an explosion risk, just about every structure on the whole rock reeked from their damn cigars.
The next two rooms were labs. Nobody home...
But one of the ceiling tiles looked different. Cleaner than the others, maybe.
Kelli pointed at it. "I didn't sign up for this."
Sher laughed.
They found an Asian guy in the ventilation duct. Hogtied and gagged, still chuckling mechanically, as writing styli travelled all over his feet.
After a long shot from Kelli's blaster, all of the tickle-tools died. It would've been nice if that were literally true, but the u-sonics only seemed to stun the ticklers. Or there were thousands of them. Same result, either way...
The same kinky technique would turn up ten K-clicks away. Some dudes were hunted over and over.
Yeah, the tickle-hands were making it real damn hard to colonize the planet.
Carefully, they got him out of the duct. He wasn't quite as loopy as the first guy, but he was too exhausted to move much. And real sore.
They basically carried him to the patrollzer. Two down.
They'd always find one or two in the sleeping quarters. It was probably a message, though nobody was sure what it meant. Not hiding that victim at all... and the last one was almost always a shitstorm to locate.
They knew somebody was in the farthest bunkchamber as soon as they started opening the door. The reek of piss, and sweat. Another odor, too. Cum.
Short white dude, muscular, strapped to a bunk.
Empty translucent gloves with their own weird internal light were squeezing his pecs and fingering his nipples. There was no mistaking it - they loved their work. Post-intense. Another pair played with each of his feet.
But the most riveting sight was in between...
Large, sleek fingers were pumping his cock. He was thrusting hard -
He saw Sher, and then Kelli. Watching him.
Blinking hard - without a trace of embarrassment - he stared right at Kelli and growled. A long, agonized groan, and then somehow he found the energy to arch.
And spurt.
Despite herself, Kelli was fascinated. Almost... flattered. Suddenly, she wanted to jump him right then and there. Leave him strapped down, and go for a ride -
Sher made a disgusted noise, and hit the blaster.
"Are you... real?" he finally gasped.
"Unfortunately," Kelli mumbled. She cut through the last strap pinning his left arm.
"You want us to give you some privacy?" Sher said. "You and your little friends?"
He grinned. One of those inherently likeable dudes. Sandy-blonde hair, cunning eyes... "No. Hell. Not another second of that shit."
The women looked at each other.
"C'mon," he protested. "How could I know you'd bust in here when you did? Some fine women, showing up to cut me loose. It's just... You know how it is. Right on the edge of, uh -"
"Save it," Sher said. But her voice was softer that before.
"Yeah," Kelli nodded her head a little. "Worst possible time to stop. Right?"
"Exactly." He rolled his head around, and groaned. "And the tickling, right afterward - post-post."
"So we hear," Sher muttered. "Can you sit up?"
"Yeah. Thanks. Glad you could drop by."
"That's what we do," Kelli said sarcastically.
"We tried," he said. "You think we wanted this? Right after Maerie took off we all got ready. Three or four blasters for each dude. Leika rigged up a huge blaster to soak the whole facility, but that clintons up the radio."
"So why didn't y -"
"We did. Trust me. Within about three secs, they jumped us. We thought if we had a hundred scanners all over the place, somebody would be able to get to one. Right? But they just concerned themselves with our thumbs." He looked up suddenly. "Miki had a tongue-switch, just in case. Is he okay?"
"Asian?"
"Uh, yeah."
He's fine. We got him."
"Good. Did they... Damn. Was he gagged, the whole time? I guess he had to be."
"You guess correctly," Sher nodded, looking grim. "Found him in the air duct."
"Ah. They must've been tracking our hands real close. As soon as Maerie signed off - boom. Both of my thumbs, hauled way up over my head, so they could strip all the blasters off me."
"Stand up," Kellie ordered. "Take my arm."
He was wobbly, but not too weak to stand.
"Kyroan," he said, sticking out his paw.
Both women rolled their eyes at the archaic form of greeting, purely out of reflex, and smirked.
"That's Sheristra, and I'm Kelli."
"Thanks again."
"So," Sher said, "if you rockdudes came up with this facility blaster, why didn't you turn it on as soon as the last woman went out the door?"
"Radio confirm," he said - hissing as he stretched one leg out. And did he ever stink. "I was there. That's what I'm trying to tell you. The shits must've been lurking around us. Maerie checked on us, one last time, and then Leika switched off the radio. He reached for the pushpad that turns on the big u-blaster. Right? And I saw his hand stop... His finger was maybe four or five cents above the switch. They'd grabbed his thumbs too."
"That's creepy," Sher finally said.
"So then we got to see all of our blasters get tossed into the dematterizer. They made us watch that. And then restraints started flyin' in to get us..."
Kyroan wanted to grab a light-bath, so Sher led the way.
Finally, they found an access panel in the floor of a storeroom. There were rivabolts sticking up. Big ones. About a hundred of 'em, keeping the panel closed. So that guy maybe got to watch the rivgun punch all those bolts up...
While Sher looked over the building plans, Kelli went back into the living area - and immediately smelled smoke. That was a relief.
She snuck over to the bather and watched him rub his arms, then his chest. That buck was prime. Groaning, he leaned against one wall and puffed on his cigar.
"Oh," he finally said when he noticed her. Leering. He moved his head a little, in just the right way - an invitation. C'mon in.
And it was tempting. But she laughed and looked down. "Not now. Gotta find two more stupid dudes."
He nodded, but the wild look didn't leave his eyes. All sexified, which made sense after the day he'd had.
When he was dressed again, Kelli led the way back to the storeroom. He was understandably nervous.
Sher wasn't. Cool as ice. When they walked into the room, all she did was set the viewpad down. "We're good. The underpassage just circles back around to the rollzer-entrance. No other exit."
"Well..." Kyroan said.
They both looked at him.
"We dug another tunnel." He shifted around, not looking them in the eye. "For the still. Chloro-alk."
"Another tunnel," Sher said quietly.
"Yup."
Kelli rubbed her forehead. "So - it's pretty easy to dig through the rock, under this place?"
"Hell, yeah."
"Of course," Sher muttered. "No point in trying to get this hatch open. We'll have to cut in... right about here."
They finally got under the floor. Plastic walls all around...
Kyroan was looking behind them. When Kelli tapped him on the arm, it really startled him. Under other circumstances, that might've been amusing. "How far?"
He made a face, and thought about it. "Seventy, eighty meters. That way."
"Hoh," Kyroan said, when they saw the metal hatch. "We didn't put a door there."
It turned out to be blasterproof. They needed ten minutes to dig around it with a melter.
Feathers flew out -
Kellie stuck a blaster inside and triggered it, as Sher nailed the ones that were heading straight for Kyroan.
They heard hoarse laughter, winding down.
A skinny, pale guy. Ten straps pinning each limb.
"Leika," Kyroan said, sounding relieved. "Easy. It's okay now, teamo."
"Ky? Oh, wow, it's so post."
"I know." And he froze, and stared.
"What now?," Kelli said.
"Is that a wall? Back there?"
Sher pointed her lightsource...
"They j-just put it up," Leika said, still breathing hard.
"So there's more... to the tunnel?," Kelli said. "Guess we know where to look for the last dude."
"No," Kyroan barked. "You don't get it. That wall - we didn't dig any farther. We're not that stupid."
"The passages," Leika said sadly.
"Wrong."
"Teamos," Sher said, "talk standard."
"Uh... We didn't tunnel that far in," Ky said to her. "That should be solid rock. Not a wall."
Leika sat up unsteadily. "Behind it, there's the passages. All the long caves and fissures."
"Hundreds of 'em. Running for several clicks -"
Kelli held up her hand. "Wait. Several clicks? Seriously?"
"Poor Byno," Leika muttered sadly. Then, to Kelli, "He's our chief."
She sighed. "We've got animosensors. How big is he?"
"Real big. And black."
Sher and Kelli looked at each other. "We already found him," Kelli said. "Right by the door. Huge guy, grey hair."
"Grey hair?" Ty said. "No. I don't know who th-"
"Ty," Leika interrupted. "It is. It has to be. But his hair was void-black yesterday. They must've worked him over so damn hard, it made his hair turn white."
"That's ridiculous," Sher finally said.
"There's only one black guy here," Leika said weakly.
Everyone looked around, at a loss for what to say. Kelli had never heard of that. A dude's hair changing color, overnight, because of the tickle-hands?
Tyroan finally broke the silence. "So... That leaves Bounder."
And Kelli turned her head - but that was impossible, what she was thinking. He was long gone. Probably back to Terra by now. It wasn't all that rare of a nickname.
The mood of the place must've been getting to her.
They all went, together, to get another melter tip.
When the wall was down, they saw another rough tunnel...
"Okay," Sher said authoritatively. "Check it out. There's all kinds of places, beyond this point, for dudes to be hidden away. Correct?"
"Yeah," Leika nodded.
"Then you two are going in the patrollzer. Now. And we need to get a lot more... women down here."
Kelli frowned. But she finally nodded. "She's right."
"Okay. I'll take the lead. L-"
Behind them, from somewhere in the passages, came a sound. Something like a squeak.
Both dude's heads whipped around. They were worried, and Kelli had to admit they had good reason to be.
"Going. Now," she said, shoving Leika. "While we can..."
They gave each rockhound a blaster of his own, but naturally there was nothing to point 'em at. That was fine... Both Kyroan and Leika looked pretty damn relieved as they hopped inside the patrollzer.
The door-bolts shot, and Ky gave them a thumbs-up.
"Good," Sher muttered, stepping back from the window. The blasters were humming. She stuck an gummy-radio to her ear. "Somebody better answer me."
"Got ya," and Kelli heard a different voice in her own ear. The Asian guy waved. Miki. "Great signal. It'll fade, somewhat -"
The patrollzer lurched toward them, and rocked back.
"Damn!"
They ran around it. A wagon had plowed into the side. An antennarray stuck out of its control box.
"But - the blasters," Sher complained.
Kelli understood, after a second. "Radio." She ran up to it and clawed for the power switch.
"This is gonna get ugly. Escalate."
"Yeah."
"Kel... These are not the usual tickle-hands."
That was an understatement. They never fought back before. Kelli had a real bad feeling about this. She just nodded, knowing what they had to do. With that one poor dude left behind...
"We have to get these dudes back to Clarke," Sheristra said carefully. "Before they get caught again."
"There's one more -"
"Who could be anywhere. Clicks away."
Kelli couldn't do it. Damn. "Or maybe not. You heard that noise, from the tunnel. Same as I did."
"Yeah, b-"
"I bet they haven't taken him too far yet."
Sher opened her mouth... and gave up. "Too risky."
"It's worth a look," Kelli said, turning away. "I'll keep in contact."
She ran back to the new tunnel.
"Still got me?"
"Yeah," Sher said unhappily. "I just killed another crawlzer."
"I'll be quick."
"Very quick, Kelli. This is really stupid."
"I know... But you heard that noise too. He isn't far. And think how grateful he'll be."
Sher just snorted at that.
Kelli turned on her listen-amp. Yes - definitely picking up something, not all that far away.
Maybe three hundred steps, and she turned a corner - to find a small cavern leading to several tunnels.
Whispered groans and chuckles...
The dude was strapped to a wagon, facing away from her.
She stared at the unique design branded on his chest.
So it was her Bounder.
Kelli frowned automatically. Not hers. Just another shithead she knew.
The sight of him, caught like that, was mesmerizing.
His cart had been rolling toward one of the tunnels - and now it rocked to a stop. Apparently she'd gotten there just in time.
Three other wagons were lined up behind it, loaded up with supplies. Food, water. They were all set to take him away. All those fissures to be searched. It would take weeks. And, of course, they could just keep moving him around. How many patrollers would it take, to rescue him?
All that tickling...
For the man she hated most.
His hair was wet. And his stomach was just glazed with cum.
Kelli couldn't tell herself the usual lies. She wasn't over him, she hadn't really moved on. And he'd treated her like shit -
He must have seen the beam of her lightsource then, because he tried to look behind him. So desperate. She'd never seen Bounder like that before. But he couldn't tilt his head back far enough, and they had him strapped down tight. Ready to go on a trip to the next chamber where he'd be tickled. And when the searchers got too close, off he'd go to the next place...
If it was anyone else, she would have already triggered the blaster. But her fingers didn't seem to want to press the trigger.
He'd lied to her, over and over. Pounded the pad with any female who gave him a second glance. Drank all her alk, and disappeared for T-weeks at a time.
And he hated being touched... more than any dude she knew.
This had to be the post-post nightmare for ol' Bounder, there. Within a few seconds, he'd be off. Into the maze.
She could rescue him, which she was sworn to do - or just stand there and do nothing. Watch as the wagons rolled away.
He used to get so irritated if she even rubbed his neck. This was ironic. Certainly the most devastating torture possible for her old dude. The whole past day, and now -
Should she speak? Let him know it was going to continue, simply because of the way he'd treated her?
Perhaps that was too much. Let him suffer, month upon month, without that knowledge. She could tell him later - and enjoy the expression on his face.
His wagon started to move.
Silently, she turned off her blaster. Nodding slowly.
Away he went.
The provisions rolled right behind.
Kelli turned and started to trot out.
"Kelli," her radio buzzed.
"On my way."
"Under attack, here," Sher said. "A travzer just smashed into us. Get out here. Now."
"Coming," she barked, rounding a corner -
And she fell.
There was... a wagon. Under her.
And many quick hands, all around. Taking the blaster away, pulling straps over her. Tightening them down -
A palm cupped over her lips, and squeezed.
Squirming, looking up, Kelli saw more wagons just behind. Piled high with baggyboxes.
No!
She squealed, as loud as she could - but a dull boom was all she heard.
"Bombs?" Sher yelled. "Dammit. They're using percussives. But I think we're okay. These dudes are... Kel, dammit, I gotta get them out. Help is already coming..."
But a hand pulled the radio off her ear. It flew well back, as if it was thrown. And the gag-hand peeled off.
The wagon started to roll.
Fingers touched her back... and traveled to her sides. Reaching under, slowly, to rub her breasts.
Kelli flailed miserably. And she giggled.
We've lost the planet, she thought sadly. Now they know. The tickle-hands had only played with dudes - as far as anybody knew. Nobody understood that. The big mystery. Or maybe there were caverns full of missing women. But that was crazy. Wishful thinking, at the moment. She would've heard. No, it seemed unlikely she'd see anybody else. Kilometers of tunnels...
They rolled her into the cavern, and across it. A different tunnel. Not the same one Bounder went down. So the rescue effort would be twice as difficult. Or maybe they'd reunite the lovers, see how they pounded the pad together. While hands rubbed them both, all over -
She tried to move, in any direction. But the hands shoved her down... and pushed their way under her arms. Others started unbuckling her boots.
A little scream burst out of her throat, and that made her angry. But the wagon kept moving, followed by the supplies that had been stolen - for her.
They'd never been known to grab a woman. But maybe it was only a matter of time -
Fingers squeezed her feet, tickling firmly through the stockings.
She screeched and howled. Wondering, as she fought with the straps, if Bounder heard her. But they probably had him far enough away, into the network of tunnels. Suffering again.
Kelli realized she'd have plenty of time to regret her cruelty. Oh, she was just as clintoned as Bounder was. So many things they could do. And she was a novelty, wasn't she? The rescuers would walk right into the trap, not suspecting a thing, taken easily.
No matter what she tried, the wagon took her further and further into the maze.
Quickly, almost as if they were impatient, the tickle-hands pulled off her socks. As soon as they got a lock on her ankles, a different texture landed on both soles at the same time -
Feathers.
Kelli really started laughing then.
06sep2003