Lisa Falkatz sat in the back of the transport, driving into the heart of New York City.
"It was beautiful," a woman said, sitting behind her. "That was before they came."
"Yeah," Lisa said, brushing her blonde hair away from her face. "Before they came." Lisa had been out of High School only two years when the Invaders came. They called themselves Vanmilians, but to humanity, they were the Invaders. Lisa looked at this woman, who was well into her thirties, then back to herself, baggy jeans, old ripped shirt. The other woman looked even worse, clothes disintegrating around her body.
"The Invaders burned out this city after taking most of its population off-world."
"My older sister was taken, a few months back."
"I'm sorry," she said, "name's Michelle."
"Lisa."
The transport stopped at what had been JFK airport. Now instead of 747's were orbital transports, which took people up to much larger interstellar ships that ferried humans to all parts of the Vanmilian Empire.
Human Overseers were waiting as Lisa and the other got off the transport. Most of the new arrivals spit on them, since they were aiding the enemy. The crowd was huge, a whole throng bottle-necking through Processing.
"Even alien invasion can't make lines move faster," Lisa thought aloud.
Lisa was in the crowd for what seemed like an eternity, when finally, she was at a terminal. The man looked up at her. "Name."
"Lisa Falkatz," she said. His fingers danced across the flat terminal and without glancing at her said, "Place your hand on the red square." Lisa saw the square, like the ones in supermarket. Irritated she held her hand over it and suddenly felt a burning sensation on her palm. "Ow! goddammit!"
"Move on," the clerk said.
"What the hell'd you do to me?!" she demanded.
The man only looked at her with eyes of ice, "Move...On." Lisa looked back to see two Overseers had been paying close attention to her exchange.
"Pig," she rasped, spitting at him, but her mouth was too dry for anything substantial.
As Lisa moved into the terminals, she heard several gunshots, followed by blasts from Vanmilian energy weapons that the Overseers carried. Lisa closed her eyes and took a breath, saying a prayer for the man who had kissed her before. She got to where the metal detector had was. Lisa walked though it without incident and was told to go to gate 12. She got there to see a bunch of other women her age there. There ware all staring at some sort of cube shaped viewing screen. Lisa got a look at it and saw it was filled with all sorts of interweaving psychedelic colors. "Wow," she gasped, and then the pattern held her, reds, yellows, greens, blues. No matter how much she wanted to look away, she could not.
Just let your mind go to sleep Lisa, a voice in her head told her. Just let it go, you won't need it now. Sleep. When the time is right, we will awaken you.
Lisa, you must awake now. Lisa started to blink as she felt herself being turned away from the cube. Before she knew it, she was being led down a corridor. "Where am I?" she wondered.
"You are on a transport, bound for the Homeworld," a voice beside her boomed. Lisa looked and saw a seven foot tall Vanmilian standing beside her.
"Then what?" Lisa asked, cautiously.
"You are Tribute. You see, Lisa, our peoples are not that different. Your ancient empires had a tradition of conquered sending gifts to the conqueror. We have the same tradition. Every six of your months, your world must send 50,000 people to the Homeworld, as well as mineral resources."
"So, I'm tribute," Lisa grumbled. So what am I, an ore miner, slave, or..." she paused, "A concubine!"
"You are clever. It is amazing. Our cultures even have similar notions of beauty. You for instance are very beautiful by even our standards. Blondes are almost unheard of on our planet. We call them ahdanda, and they are special beyond words."
"So, I'm special," Lisa replied.
"A few cosmetic alterations need to be performed. You will be a perfect beauty, fit for the harems of the highest members of the Dynasty."
"I'll never go willingly!"
"So defiant," the Vanmilian mumbled. "Yes, you will. I was hoping for a minimal reeducation for you Lisa, but..."
"So, you'll drug me and hypnotize me?"
"Primitive methods, Lisa, and damaging. We can reconstruct your neural pathways synapse by synapse if we have to." Lisa was wide-eyed.
"No! That's impossible!"
"To your people, perhaps. Lisa a key difference between the human brain and ours is, while of vast potential, the human brain is soft and easily molded, and seduced. Did you not notice your clothes?"
Lisa looked down to see her baggy jeans and dirty shirt replaced with tight black bodysuit. "Wha..."
"So simple Lisa, when you were tagged in the terminal, we accessed your mind through those nerves in your hand. Allow me to show you." He took Lisa's hand and waved it in front of a small circular sensor on the wall. A holographic cube-screen blinked into existance between the woman and the Vanmilian. Text began writing itself.
Lisa Falkatz (Tribute 97764) Born date 8678.9315 since founding of empire. Father: Charles Falkatz (deceased) Mother Jennifer Kelvin-Falkatz (unknown) Sister: Teresa "T" Falkatz, (Tribute 85791) °*+--+*°°+ |||||||||| +-°**°-++°
"The characters in the bottom are your DNA base pairs. An infallible means of identification." Lisa burned with anger. "So defiant," the alien repeated. "Very well," he looked at a door across the hall. "Lisa please go in there. You do not want us to become unpleasant."
Seeing there was no choice, Lisa entered the room and found herself bathed in darkness.
Lisa, remove your clothes, the voice said.
"No!"
Suddenly another psychedelic cube popped into existance. When it disappeared seconds later, Lisa discovered herself standing naked in the darkness. The lights came up enough for Lisa to make out a few vague details of the room. There was a table or bed by the far wall.
Lisa, this will be your quarters until arrival at the Homeworld. Like an eyelid, a window opened up, looking out on the vast field of stars. There were no suns or planets anywhere. We are about eleven light years from your world, moving at several times the speed of light.
Lisa, lay down. There was something unspoken with the voice this time. Something compelling, that Lisa dare not disobey.
"Yes," she thought aloud. Lisa laid on her back on the bed, staring at the ceiling of the room.
We will now begin your reeducation.
"I understand." There was a soft humming sound, and Lisa felt something between her legs.
This will not be painful. Some have even found it pleasurable.
"I understand," Lisa said again, struggling to keep her mind from blanking. What are they doing to me, she wondered. Her answer came when she felt something penetrate her anus. It was small, and moved slowly.
Suddenly there was a pinch, inside of her rear end. Her behind tingling, Lisa wondered to herself, why do aliens always stick things up peoples asses?
"The answer is simple Lisa, it is the most non-invasive way of accessing the spinal cord." Lisa felt whatever it was pull out of her ass. Suddenly a pulse shot throughout her body, like hitting an elbow on the doorway, Lisa felt every nerve in her body.
"Psychedelic!" Lisa gasped, seeing the colors dance in front of her eyes as the shock hit her brain.
"We now have complete access to every part of your brain. Your reprogramming will commence at our convenience."
"What have you done to me now?!" Lisa demanded. The other voice was now silent.
Lisa discovered she had full access to the Vanmilian ship. There was a place where all the "tribute" would gather. It was made to look like a tropical garden. Lisa looked at all the other women there, like her, they were naked. The Vanmilians had removed their modesty long ago. There was one that caught her attention. The woman had been black, but her skin color had been changed more to a slate gray.
"Hello?" Lisa asked. The woman turned around and brushed her straightened hair away from her eyes. Lisa gasped to see the woman's eyes were totally white, no pupils. "I'm sorry," Lisa replied.
"It is OK," the woman smiled. "I have been altered to the standards of beauty of my Masters."
"Is this what they like?"
"Of course. You are ahdanda, you should know that. They enjoy skin tones from my color to a more bluish one. No one here has it yet, but I will know it when I see it."
"How do you, uh...see?"
"The membrane on my eyes are sensitive to light. I see just as well as you do, with greater peripheral vision." She could see the expression on Lisa's face. "You will understand soon enough. My master is calling for me." She left the room then.
"Weird," Lisa said to herself. Although she seems happy, she added silently. Maybe I will be that happy serving my Master. "What am I thinking?" she gasped.
"The reeducation has begun Lisa," the voice in her mind said. "It will go so much easier if you do not resist."
"I'll fight with everything I have!" Lisa said back.
"So be it. Lisa, we are going to have to alter your viewpoints a little. Return to your quarters."
Lisa wanted to fight back, but all she could say was a weak, "Yes, Master."
The doors closed behind Lisa and she was bathed in darkness again. "Lay down." Lisa obeyed and laid on the bed again, then felt her skin tingle all over. Then something in her eyes, but it was more a passing sensation. "Lisa you now belong to a close relative of the Emperor. You will serve him well in his harem. Your skin has been changed to his favorite, the bluish tone you were told of earlier. Your body has been imprinted with his pattern."
In Lisa's mind appeared the image of her new body. Somewhere between slate gray and sky blue. From just under her arms there were spots that coalesced into a solid stripe at her hips. Her breasts and buttocks were covered in swirling designs while irregular stripes covered the remaining parts of her body like a zebra, except for her face, framed by her long, blonde, ahdanda hair. Her eyes were solid white. She could feel the pleasure her body would bring to her master.
"Yes, you will bring him great pleasure," the voice said. "Now Lisa listen to my words and they will reprogram you to our satisfaction. You are fortunate, not being sent to a mine on some unknown world or asteroid, like males of your race."
"I am fortunate," Lisa repeated.
"You are in the harem of one of the highest officials of the empire. Your position is one only dreamed of by many. You serve him."
"I serve," she repeated.
"You serve well, by bringing him pleasure. It is the duty of concubines to serve their masters and bring them pleasure."
"I bring pleasure."
"By bringing pleasure, you keep the empire healthy. You preserve the empire."
"I preserve the empire."
"Yes Lisa. You understand now, do you not?"
"I understand and I obey."
"Very good, Lisa. Now you may rejoin the others. They will envy you and your new position to no end."
"Yes, Master."
Lisa spent her days in the paradise as her masters carefully watched her for any signs of relapse (which extremely rare, has been known to happen). They quickly saw her brain had been completely rewired and she only thought of serving her master.
"Lisa, we have arrived at the Homeworld. Your master will receive you soon."
"Yes, Master," she replied, becoming anxious at the thought of serving her master.
Lisa did not remember anything before now. She was standing on the balcony of the Empire's capitol. Looking at the yellow sky with the sun setting while the moons shone brightly above. She knew she was on a ship and brought here, but no details were forthcoming. She also had dreams about how she was on another world, another life.
"Lisa!" the voice commanded, and all thoughts disintegrated. "Come to me!"
Lisa turned around and left the balcony, entering her Lord's bed chamber. "I obey, my Lord," she said.
"You serve well," he said, caressing her back. She laid on the bed, spread her legs and thrust her rear end up. "You please me." He patted her rear end then she felt his rigid member enter her now wet sex. She gasped with delight. He began thrusting slowly, increasing her pleasure exponentially. Soon she was orgasming beyond comparison to anything she experienced on earth, had she remembered it. Finally she felt her master come, his sperm flooding her body. "Thank you my Lord," she breathed, her body still in orgasmic throes. He continued to caress her body, after she stopped, her featureless eyes fixated on some far-off point.
"You serve the empire well," he smiled. "You serve me very well."