Chapter One

The fiery orange glow shone brightly through the porthole in the side of the capsule shuttle, flickering as if the world outside were on fire. Yet as Leanna gazed out the thick glass constructed to withstand the debris of space junk in a planet's orbit, she saw not flicking flames consuming the land, but the reflection of the setting sun glistening across the waves. The day was ending on the planet of Cornucopia IV, a world of abundant waters within a galaxy of plentiful and varied harvest. The exporting of delicious and exotic fish, unique coral and seaweed crops, and minerals found within the underwater caverns and volcanic chutes were some of what the world had been known for. However, Cornucopia IV also had another, unofficial name: Hedonesia.

Named as such due to the massive, island-sized resort of Poseidon's Paradise, run not by any official government but an alliance of tourism, sports, and commercial corporations that, over several decades after its original founding, ironed out a set of loose "laws" that permitted much freedom while largely discouraging violence and crime. Alcohol and drugs were abundant, gambling was a common pastime, and sexuality was encouraged. In a galaxy whose sexual morals had already grown more lax, Poseidon's Paradise permitted nudity and open sexual conduct, making it one of the top spots for young vacationers and celebrity Netcasters.

For Leanna, it was a place to finally break free. The fourth child of seven in a dynasty of commercial parts for space ship engines, she had been reared to live a life of discipline, self-denial, and a boring career working in some off-world corporate office as a puppet to her father's micromanagement. That was the intent, at least. Instead, she had gotten in trouble several times for skipping her classes and exploring the world, exploring the lower class hubs and stations, and, by time she was sent to College, exploring the opposite sex. She had finally been figuratively locked away in a tower for an extreme "re-education", but she had learned a thing or two sleeping with a couple of hackers in College. She knew how to bypass her father's corporate firewall, access the internal and external network, and not only easily bypass every electronic lock in her educational compound, but find out that Poseidon's Paradise was going to be hosting the seventeenth intergalactic warrior's brawl. She wasn't the most enthused about martial sports, but knew that Poseidon's Paradise would be more exciting and unhinged than ever. If she were ever going to find some sort of freedom of her own, be it in terms of her own career as a Netcaster or making the right connections in more exciting industries than selling polarity inverters, then this was her best opportunity.

Getting out of her dad's compound was the easy part. The hard part was siphoning enough funds from the disparate accounts in her father's company to get just enough funds to last without alarming anyone. She learned a bit from hackers, but not enough to feel confident she'd be undiscovered. So, in a hurry and not wanting to spend a good percentage of what meager money she could snip away from her father, she stowed away on a supply ship by blowing a poorly paid dock worker and hiding away in the cargo hold. The journey was long enough that she managed to gain access to the vessel's systems, studying them, and figuring out how to access the capsule shuttles typically reserved for emergency landfall. Before they struck Cornucopia's atmosphere, she slipped from the cargo hold and into one of the capsules, deactivating its tracker chip, resetting its data encryption so that it'd differ from the parent ship's, and then did her best to hold tight while the entire vessel shook and heated up with the friction of atmospheric descent. Once free, she punched the ejection and launched the capsule to her chosen coordinates: the ocean dock of Poseidon's Paradise.

Delicate fingers brushed loose strands of silvery-white hair behind her ear, a satisfied smile spreading across the soft features of her face. She had made it just barely in time. In another standard galactic hour the planet would be closed to all landfall for several days in order to mitigate a further influx of visitors to the island city. If the supply vessel had been late, then they'd have had to redirect to another of the Cornucopia worlds, all of which were certainly beautiful, but none of which represented the freedom and unrestrained pleasure that her upbringing had so desperately sought to deny her. Her bare thighs rubbing together as her feet tapped the capsule's floor, she bit her bottom lip, watching as the different marine rigs and island installations passed by, contemplating all the things she might be able to do, people she could meet.

Of course, she'd first need to withdraw her funds. Physical currency was an increasing rarity, but by removing it from her own account she could then deposit it onto a money chip, a simple card that can store and convert funds into any local currency. So long as she could move the money from her account, her father would have no way to take it back, should the missing funds be discovered and traced. After that, it was a matter of figuring out a place to sleep. If need be she could find a cheap motel to stay at, though even the lowest of establishments in Poseidon's Paradise would cost a pretty sum. The most affordable option would be to find someone to sleep with, a free bed in exchange for her body. A fair exchange, for her at least, should there be a suitable candidate to find.

The last step would be to post on her Netfeed, letting any friends and family know she was fine. She didn't hate her dad, after all, or her mother. She just didn't want to live a life pre-planned for her. So many of her other siblings seemed fine with it, even dove into it, but such a life was not for her. So, once landfall was cut off and all other concerns were taken care of, she'd post on her feed and let all who followed know she was okay.

Then, tomorrow, she'd begin to explore the hedonistic paradise for herself, and see who she could meet.

For now, however, she checked her holo-tablet, finger punching into the nonexistent screen that emitted from a holocam attached to the bottom of her collar, scanning her follow list to see who might be broadcasting from Poseidon's Paradise at the moment. As she scrolled her Netfeed, her lips curled into a smile. Her favorite Netcaster -- and the favorite of millions in the galaxy -- was on air, interviewing one of the fighters for the warrior's brawl in her own unique way. Leanna tuned in, slipping her headphones over her ears and settling back into the firm cushions of the capsule.

"A lot of critics have been saying you don't even belong in this tournament," came a soft, sing-song voice through the headset, "what with having won no titles in the minor league fighting promotions. What do you have to say in response?"

~*~*~*~

A smile spread across the handsome face of Geoffrey Burns, rising star of the cybernetic fighting world. At twenty-nine years old, he'd emerged onto the scene only two years ago and quickly began climbing the ranks of the different divisions, circuits, and promotions. Yet he never won a title in a single one, meaning he never actually beat the best in any one league to earn a place in the next. This was not unheard of, and in fact was quite common for those with incredible records to match their meteoric rise. However, no one had ever been invited to The Brawl without having won at least one belt. Yet here sat Geoffrey, his arms spread along the back of his couch, one of flesh and the other metal, a black t-shirt clinging tightly onto his fit form, being interviewed by none other than Vicki Violet, the universe's most salacious and lascivious of journalistic talents.

"You'll have to take that up with my manager," he said with a persistent smile. "It was his ide-hee-ah!" His eyes suddenly closed, smile wiped away as his lips gaped open, head tilting back. Vicki's interviews weren't so popular for her journalistic integrity, though she possessed a surprising amount given her nature of coverage. No, she earned the love of so many across the galaxies by engaging in sexual activities with those she interviewed. She'd always begin the first five minutes with just her hands, her fingers dancing in tandem over her subject's sensitive genitalia, before applying her mouth for the next five. At the ten minute mark, it was time for penetration. However, the interview was also a test of stamina for her subject. Should they cum, the interview would end. Should the interviewer last long enough that Vicki herself orgasms or runs out of questions, well, the interview still ends, but Vicki doesn't just pack up and return to her hotel room. She spends the rest of the night with her subject, often chronicling each seedy detail to feed her viewers' imaginations, but keep enough hidden it leaves them yearning for more, fantasizing of more.

Three separate spheres hovered about the plush couch on which Geoffrey sat, his legs spread wide, zipper of his dark blue slacks open with his cock and balls free of their confines. Vicki's lips, however, embraced Geoffrey's member down to the hilt, a droplet of saliva dripping down over his quivering scrotum as her throat worked. One of the spheres slipped closer, the feed automatically swapping to its camera in order to show the audience each gulp of her throat, squeezing and caressing Geoffrey's crown. Opening her eyes and looking up, the brunette journalist, bedecked in headphones that filled her ears with silent feedback, viewer commentary, and Netfeed information on her interview subject, slipped her lips back up the length, mouth popping off, followed by her tongue gliding over her upper lip.

"I didn't ask what your manager thought," she said, her right hand massaging at Geoffrey's nut sack, spreading the trail of saliva over the wrinkly flesh. Her eyes glanced to the side as her headset chimed seven minutes, and then she ducked her head back down and took his cock back between her lips. She continued to dip down fully, capturing the bulbous head of Geoffrey's dick in her throat, gulping and tilting her head forward, pulling back up before dipping down again. The smack of her lips on thick, rigid flesh and gulp of her throat filled the hotel suite, the percussion to Geoffrey's deep and heavy sighs of pleasure as his legs spread further apart, muscles tensing.

"Well," he panted, his hand of flesh lifting from the back of the couch and running through his hair, palm wiping some of the beading sweat upon his brow, "I, um... it's all been very fast, to be honest." Vicki's eyes fluttered open, glinting as she looked up to Geoffrey. This was it, one of the reasons she employed the methods she had, the "game" of an interview to test her subject's stamina. Inevitably, the guard would be let down, lost in the pleasure and the focus on lasting as long as possible instead of carefully holding your cards close to the chest. Vicki turned her head to the side, dipping back down Geoffrey's length only to twist and turn the other way at the base, pulling up and twisting back, cork-screwing up and down his cock, her slurps getting louder as her eyes remained locked on him.

"Oh shit," he gasped, his hips bucking upwards as he felt the caress surround his full cock, adding yet another new sensation to his pleasure. "Um... honestly, I never expected to... to leave the Jovian circuit." His chest rose and fell with each deep breath, every exhale a gasp, his abdomen flexing and hips bucking and squirming as Vicki continued her work. She dove down and held there, head turning back and forth, tongue extending to slip past her bottom lip and lap at his balls, cradled in her delicate fingertips. "Fuck," he gasped again, his metallic hand grasping the couch, the sudden burst of the soft material as the fingers punctured into it. "I kept winning, though, and... and..."

Vicki's eyes widened, feeling the sudden quiver in Geoffrey's sac, the tightening of his thigh muscles surrounding her, the deep intake of breath, his back arching. She immediately pulled her head back, lips sliding off of his cock, her hand leaving his balls and grasping his wet, hot member at the base. Her hand was a blur as she jerked him, her mouth spreading into a convincingly excited smile, tongue hanging out. Almost immediately came that first thick splash of cum, the white hot seed smacking across her cheek and tip of her nose. She closed her eyes, giggling as each burst struck her, decorating her cheeks, her lips and tongue, her chin, all while Geoffrey's voice trembled as he moaned, body shaking, his every thought having been silenced by the orgasm now rocking him. As the cum settled into a trickle over her fingers, smearing against her palm as she stroked his length, she slowed, loosening her grip as she caressed down to his base, then tightening it further and further as she rose again towards the head, squeezing as much of the seed out as she could before extending her tongue, swirling it around the crown and lapping what traces of cum remained.

"Nine minutes fifty-one seconds," chimed an electronic voice in her ear. "Too bad, tiger," she giggled before putting a fake pout on her cum covered face. "Nine more seconds and you'd have been inside me." She giggled again, closing her eyes as her lips wrapped around the head, suckling gently and swirling her tongue, causing him to gasp once more from the now overly-sensitive tingle of his crown.

"Damn," he panted, though his head remained tilted back, no smile appearing on his face. He might actually be disappointed. Vicki gave one last suck on Geoffrey's now softening member before pulling off with a pop, turning to face her floating camera sphere nearest to her. "Well, everyone," she chimed, "even though things concluded just as we were getting juicy, I hope you'll root for our boy Geoffrey here when the Brawl officially begins in two days. And, as always," she gave a wink and lifted her free hand into a sideways peace sign tilted towards her face, "please keep watching your favorite interviewer for more adventures in Poseidon's Paradise. Bye!" She then blew a cummy kiss to the camera.

"Stream ended," the electronic voice chimed, the spheres floating together and gently settling down onto the coffee table in a row, deactivated. Immediately it began to list all the different analytics, from top-rated comments to viewer counts to average watch-times, but she lowered the headphones to around her neck, caring not a bit for any of it at this point. The numbers were too large to even fathom. Instead, she reached to her glittery pink purse beside her on the floor, grabbing three separate cleaning wipes, delicately placing one atop Geoffrey's shrunken cock before standing. Her bikini top did little to restrain the jiggle of her breasts, and her low-rise latex pants clung impossibly tight to her long legs and perfectly round, heart-shaped ass. She began to wipe the cum from her hands and face with the two wipes, stepping from the couch over to the wall-sized window gazing out onto the massive island city.

"We off air?" Geoffrey asked, as if finally coming to from a stupor. He looked down, taking a moment to register the wipe on his crotch before starting to clean himself with it. By the window the brunette nodded.

"Yes," she said. "It should be a good start to the festivities, enough to get people talking, wanting more." Inside, it was Vicki cursing, left unsatisfied. She was usually disappointed when her subjects ejaculated before sex, of course, but the whole game was her idea to begin with. It's what drew in the viewers, and it's also what distracted her subjects into giving her information they wouldn't give anyone else. Best of all, she had gotten the interview method covered by the Galactic Bureau of Patents and Copyright, so despite all the wannabes out there trying to imitate her success, none of them could use her actual method. Sure, plenty of copycats rose, but none of them were even close to supplanting her success.

Yet she got too caught in the moment herself. She was so focused on disarming him that she increased the pace and intensity when she should have backed down. Rookie mistake. However, another thing that set her apart was that she had set the rules and would follow them herself. Even so, because of her own eagerness for information, she might have lost the one moment of vulnerability to get inside the mind of the incredibly guarded Geoffrey Burns. Crossing her arms, her nails dug into her own flesh.

"You better win your first couple matches," she said, gazing towards the window. "I want a follow-up interview." Geoffrey was quiet a moment, but then laughed softly as he zipped himself back up.

"I'll do my best, miss Violet," he said.

Vicki nodded, eyes scanning the lights of Poseidon's Paradise as the sun was almost beneath the waves. The night life was about to come alive, and she herself still had several appointments to make before she could get any sleep. Her attention was suddenly caught by a curious glimmer, a blinking light descending towards the dock in the distance, a vessel far smaller than the others dropping off the last of the revelers before landfall shut down. The only thing she could think of that would be so small would be a capsule shuttle, but those were typically reserved for emergency exit and landfall. Who would be arriving in such a meager vessel?