Caged Among the Stars, Chapter 8 (Patreon)

“This is all you could get?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You said to get people I trusted.”

It’s the weekend, and I’m sitting in Kaylin’s room with him, his brother Lem, Tuck, and Prim. We’re here to discuss some sort of plan Lem has come up with for Kaylin’s tribunal hearing. It’s in just a few days and we’re understandably nervous about it, especially Kaylin.

Lem asked me to bring along any cabrian dom friends of mine, people I trusted. There are plenty of doms I call friend, but Tuck and Prim are the two I trust the most. I’ve known them both a long time, Tuck since we were kids, and Prim since high school. Kaylin still isn’t comfortable enough to publicly reveal our relationship, so I wanted to keep this group small for his sake, but if Lem says we need more, I can get more.

“I guess we’ll be fine with the four of you,” Lem says with a sigh. “I just figured with more people we’d have a better shot at making sure this works.”

“Making sure what works?” Kay asks. “You still haven’t told us anything about this ‘plan’ of yours yet.”

“I’m getting to that.” Lem rolls his eyes. “So, the actual charge brought against Kaylin is that he lied on his submission paperwork when he joined the GAA.”

“But I didn’t,” Kaylin replies. “The recruiter filled most of that out for me. She never asked.”

“Right.” Lem looks confident. “So today, the four of us are all going to talk to a recruiter and see if the same thing happens.”

“Like, you want us to reapply to the academy?” I’m already skeptical.

“Exactly that,” Lem confirms. “And you’re going to use your OCIDs to record the whole thing.”

“Are we supposed to use fake names or something?” Kaylin asks, just as doubtful.

“Yeah, I mean if Zekram’s in trouble for lying on his application, wouldn’t we be doing the exact same thing?” Prim astutely points out.

“Technically it’s only illegal to submit a fraudulent application,” Lem starts. “As long as you leave before they do that, no actual crime has been committed.”

“And can’t we also get in trouble for recording without them knowing?” I’m pretty sure that law isn’t even exclusive to the GAA.

“That recording issue is why we will be doing this in a public place, not Academy property, where there is no reasonable expectation of privacy.” That sounds like lawyer speak. “There’s a recruitment drive being held in Trellimus Park this afternoon.”

“Okay, so I’m not saying I’m not up for doing this,” Tuck starts. “But I don’t really know that my dad’s gonna be happy if he finds out I did.”

“Right, Senator Balock.” I can hear the weariness in Lem’s voice. “I don’t have to really name everyone who records - but if your dad really has a problem with this, he sucks.”

“Not arguing that,” Tuck replies. “I just really don’t feel like getting chewed out next Cytolus Eve.”

“Then try to remember that what you're doing is important.” To his credit, Lem seems entirely confident. “This isn’t just about my brother, this is about all of the subs who get treated like they’re less capable than their dom counterparts.”

“I hate that I have to be in the spotlight for this, but he’s right,” Kaylin speaks up. “They aren’t doing this because I lied on my application. They want to punish me for daring to step above what they think is my place.”

“I’m in,” Prim says without hesitation. “It’ll be nice to maybe not have the officer program full of nothing but dickheaded doms.”

“Gods, I can only hope,” Kaylin concurrs.

The four of us leave campus, hopping on a hovertram to take us to the west side of Miral, where Trellimus Park is located. It’s busy, because in addition to the recruitment drive, there’s also some sort of weekend festival going on. There’s a ton of food, games and rides for the kids, and I think I even hear some music being played somewhere.

But our focus is on the large pavilion the GAA is set up in. There’s a few of these pavilions all across the park. They normally look like tall, thin cylinders, but when activated split apart and form an entire structure. They’re incredibly sturdy and can even function as a shelter in the event of an emergency. There are about half a dozen recruiters sitting at booths inside, with a few people sitting in chairs waiting for their turn as the recruiters talk with other applicants. Guess this is it.

“Alright, make sure your OCIDs are recording,” Lem reminds us in a low voice. “And remember to use fake names.”

As we take our seats, I double tap two fingers to my palm in my left hand, turning on my OCIDs camera. One by one, the people sitting ahead of us are each called up, until finally it’s my turn. A cabrian woman at the desk furthest to the right waves me over.

“Good afternoon,” she greets me as I sit down. A pair of holo-screens float in front of her, though I can’t see what’s on them from the back. “Hope you’ve been having a nice day so far.”

“Yeah, it’s been a nice day,” I respond. “I hope yours has been good too.”

“Well, I’ve been working inside this tent all morning,” she tells me with a smile. “But it hasn’t been too bad. Always happy to talk about what the GAA has to offer someone. Is that something you’ve been thinking about?”

“Uh, yeah it is,” I lie, already feeling bad. “I’ve been thinking about signing up for a while.”

“That’s great,” she tells me. “What about the academy appeals to you?”

“Well, I’ve always kinda liked what they stand for.” I quickly come up with a story for myself. “Banding together to help people across the galaxy. Not to mention actually getting to go to space or other planets.”

“We hear that a lot.” Phew. She seems to have bought it. “I’ve been to a lot of different places myself, just working this booth.”

“That’s amazing.” I’m not completely lying - even as a student, I’ve been to a dozen different planets already.

“Obviously I’m just in administration, but we have a few officers here to answer more of your questions in details.” Not anyone I know I hope... “But first, let’s get started on this application.”

“Sounds good.” I nod as she begins to type.

“Now, what’s your full name?” I can only see the back of her holoscreen.

“Padim Hurrat,” I answer before spelling it out. “P-a-d-i-m H-u-r-r-a-t.”

“Thank you.” She continues to type.

“And what’s your date of birth?” she continues with the basic questions.

Some of her questions are fairly obvious, like my birthdate, and both a physical and electronic address to send communications. Others are more abstract - are there any roles I’m particularly interested in, do I know anyone else in the academy or GAA at large. I answer all as best I can, delving deeper and deeper into this fictional character I’ve created. I almost forget what I’m doing.

“Alright, can you just verify that everything I’ve filled out so far is correct?” With a twirl of her finger, she rotates the holoscreen toward me.

The form is filled in with my fake name and all the other false information I gave. It also has a few things she didn’t ask me - like my species, and right below that is my designation: dominant. I focus my eyes on that, making sure to capture it on the recording.

“Is everything okay?” Shit, I’ve been silent for too long. “Did I spell something wrong?” She turns the screen back in her direction.

“Oh, uh, no, sorry.” Alright, I got what I came for, time to get out of here. “I’m just, uh, I guess having some second thoughts?”

“I see.” She doesn’t seem to be taken aback by that. “You wouldn’t be the first. Are there any questions I could answer that would help put you at ease?”

“It’s not really that.” I feel bad that I’ve been lying to her, but I can use the guilt I’m feeling to my advantage. “I just think I should probably talk to my parents first, before making a big decision like this.”

“Ah, I understand that well.” She nods her head knowingly. “My own father was not exactly happy when I told him I was joining the GAA.”

“Yeah, I have a feel mine is the same way.” That worked better than I hoped.

“Well, if you change your mind, we’ll be here for a few more hours,” she starts to tell me. “Otherwise, we do these events a few times a year, and you can also just pop in to the GAA headquarters or any of our branch offices and apply there.”

“Thank you, I will.” I stand and shake her hand.

I tap my fingers to my wrist again, ending the recording as I turn and leave the pavilion. Back outside, I spot Lem across the way, leaning against a tree. When he sees me, he gestures for me to come over.

“How’d it go?” Lem asks as I join him on a patch of grass.

“It happened exactly like you said it would,” I tell him. “She asked me a few things but blew right past my designation. When she showed me the form at the end, I saw that she had checked dominant.”

“That’s perfect.” Lem smiles wide. “Can you get me the recording?”

“I’ll send it right now.” With a flick of my wrist, I bring up the menu on my OCID.

Much like when it acts as a HUD during training sessions, everything is only visible to me. The only reason anyone around us could even tell that I’m using it is because of the gestures I’m making with my hand and fingers to navigate it. I grab the video file and, after sending a copy to my personal datapad, find Lem in my contacts and send it to him as well.

“This is exactly what we need,” Lem tells me after pulling out his own datapad and watching the video for himself. Let’s hope the others were just as successful.”

“Wouldn’t it be better if you tried too?” I ask, wondering why he didn’t attempt to fake an application like us.

“Well, for one I’d need to buy an optical camera.” Our OCIDs might have come from the GAA, but there are all sorts of models available to private citizens. “And it also isn’t a good look for a lawyer to be seen intentionally lying on camera. Especially not when it’s evidence in his own case.”

“Good point.” Being a lawyer sounds complicated.

“Here comes the others.” Lem nods behind me, and I turn to see Tuck and Prim, with Kaylin right behind them.

“How’d it go?” I ask when we’re all together.

“Not well,” Tuck complains. “I didn’t get a cabrian recruiter, mine was a hoshu. She asked me everything, including my designation.”

Hoshu are a terran-descended species like cabrians, the two sharing a decent amount of biological similarity. The main differences are that the skin and hair of most hoshu are tinged green, and they do not possess the dominant/submissive dimorphism that we do. They’re said to have increased senses of smell and taste when compared to other species, though I haven’t ever asked any myself to confirm.

“It’s alright, you did your best.” I can hear a little disappointment in Lem’s voice.

“I didn’t fare much better.” Prim frowns. “I did get a cabrian, but he also made sure to ask for my designation.”

“Good thing mine went off without a hitch,” Kaylin says with a grin. “Sending you the video now.”

“Thank gods.” Lem relaxes as he checks his pad again. “This is good. I would have liked to have more than two, but I can work with this.”

“What happens now?” I ask, unsure of what we do next.

“Now I need to get back to my hotel and start preparing my case.” Lem is already getting to work on his pad. “I’ve also got to submit the videos as evidence. Kay, I’ll call you later to go over things for the tribunal, okay?”

“Sounds good, bro.” Kaylin and his brother share a hug. “See ya.”

“I’ve got an astrophysics test to study for, so I’m gonna head out too,” Tuck tells us, turning and walking away with a wave.

“I’m supposed to be getting dinner with Gax,” Prim tells me. “See you both in class tomorrow.”

“Well, I don’t have anything going on today,” I say to Kaylin as our three friends all walk away. “Wanna hang out around here, maybe get something?”

“That sounds nice,” he replies, before lowering his voice further. “Sir.”

Kaylin’s words make me smile as we walk away from the GAA recruiters. It’s a nice day, the orange verasoli trees rustling in the wind, their fallen leaves blending in with the green-yellow grass. There are a lot of people out, some having picnics with their families and friends, others playing games like rackball or twoton together.

“Hey, you hungry?” I ask Kaylin after spotting a cart selling fried takabird on a stick.

“I could eat,” he tells em with a grin.

“Two, please.” I hold up two fingers to the cart’s vendor, transferring the credits to him electronically.

“Here.” I hold one of them out for Kaylin as we walk away.

He surprises me by not taking it, instead leaning forward to take a bite as if I was feeding him. I feel a rush of dominance surge through me, and I can’t help myself, wrapping my arms around his waist and pulling him into my side as we walk. I keep feeding him like this, not thinking anything of it until of course, someone has to ruin things.

“Holy shit,” a familiar voice says from behind. “Look at Zekram, being fed by Urmatin like a bitch.”

We instantly freeze in our tracks, turning to see who else but Cadet Falkin and some of his friends. I don’t know why they’re here, I certainly wasn’t expecting them, but it is a public park. I just hate having to look at his stupid fucking face.

“I always knew he’d be just like any other sub,” Falkin sneers. “Eating out of his dom’s hands because he can’t feed himself.”

“Fuck off, Falkin,” I spit out, only realizing afterwards that Kaylin is already walking in the opposite direction. “Kaylin, wait.”

“What the fuck was that?!” he almost yells at me when I catch up to him. “What were you thinking?”

“What? What are you talking about?” I get why he’d be upset, but not this much. “I’m sorry they saw, but it’s not like I did it on purpose.”

“No, you just didn’t think about it at all!” He’s so angry he’s almost spitting when he talks. “The one thing I asked of you was not to dom me like that in public! Asshole!”

“Kay, wait!” I try, but he’s already stomping away. “I didn’t...”

“Aww, having problems keeping your bitch in line?” one of Falkin’\s friends jokes.

I turn back, trying to think of a witty retort, but I’m just too distracted by Kalyin and just end up walking away while Falkin and the others snicker behind me. I’m worried, and want to chase after Kaylin and talk, but I don’t think he’d respond well to that. I also don’t think he’d appreciate being stuck on the same hovertram home as me, so I give it a good ten minutes before heading to the station.

I just don’t really understand. I know why he’d be upset at Falkin seeing him like that, but I’m not sure I was the right target for that anger. It’s not as though I pushed him to do anything - he was the one who started it, if anything! I’m not trying to avoid responsibility for my part in things, but he didn’t have to yell at and ditch me like that.

By the time I make it back to campus, I’ve thoroughly lost my appetite and head straight for my dorm. I spend the evening trying to distract myself with movies, the news, I even try studying. None of it is of any use, my mind always coming back to Kaylin, even when I try to sleep. I’m doing my best not to feel anger towards him, but it’s tough.

I’m tossing and turning in bed when I hear a knock on my door. I check the time, seeing that it’s almost midnight, and there’s only one person I think that would be here at this hour. I disengage the door’s lock, watching it slide open to reveal Kaylin.

“Hey.” He at least sounds regretful. “Can I come in?”

“Sure.” I step aside, letting the sub enter and trying to remain neutral.

“I’m sorry,” he blurts out before the door is even closed. “For this afternoon, freaking out on you like.”

“Thanks.” It does make me feel better to hear that. “I’m sorry too for my part in it. I know how important keep those things private is to you, and I should have stopped it when I had a chance.”

“No, this isn’t your fault.” Kaylin hangs his head. “It’s mine. I’m the one who started things, it’s not your fault for going along with me. I’m sorry for yelling, cursing at you, and just...making things worse, probably.”

“It’s... It’s okay, Kaylin.” I mean, it’s probably not going to take long before Falkin spreads around what he saw today, but I don’t mention that. “I understand why.”

“That doesn’t make it okay though.” He worries his bottom lip with his teeth. “I... I’d like you to punish me. Please, sir.”

“Punishment?” I was not expecting that. “I’m not sure, Kay...”

“Please?” He finally looks up at me, a hurt look in his eye. “The guilt I feel over it... I couldn’t even sleep. Punishment is going to be the only way to fix it. Otherwise it will just keep eating me up inside.”

“Okay, but, we haven’t really talked about punishment,” I start, not sure if I will agree. “We’ve barely been dating a week. Lem should really be the person to--”

“No,” he answers before I can finish. “Please no. Lem hasn’t punished me since I was a kid...  It would be weird, and I’d rather him not find out about how I acted today if I can help it.”

I’m not sure I like that answer. It’s true, all that guilt can really eat away at a sub, and some kind of punishment or consequence is generally the only way to resolve it. Seeing as we don’t have any formal agreements between us for that yet, Lem should be the person to administer it. Watching it take place would be enough to soothe my own dom instincts, but he seems really, really opposed to that.

“Okay. But just this once,” I agree after some inner turmoil. “And we are going to talk to your brother before it happens again.

“Okay, sir,” he agrees to my stipulation with a nod. “What... How do you want me?”

“I’m thinking just a spanking this time, since it’s your first offense,” I joke, taking a seat on my bed. “Strip, and then get over my lap.”

“Yes, sir.”

Kaylin quickly pulls off his clothes, laying them across the back of my desk chair. Once he’s naked, he climbs onto the bed, and then over my lap, his red ass right in the center. I stroke my hands over his skin, watching the way he shivers at my light. Well, light for now.

“I really didn’t like what happened today.” I rub my hand over his cheeks briefly before raising it. “And not even because of what you said to me.”

I bring my hand down on his right cheek with a sharp smack.

“I mean, no one wants to get yelled at or cursed out.” I spank his other cheek, and then the first again. “But that wasn’t even the worst of what happened.”

“You just left me there.” Spank, spank. “You just stormed off, with absolutely no talking other than you yelling at me.”

I give three more sharp smacks to his ass.

“I get being upset at what happened.” Two more spanks. “But you know it wasn’t my fault. I was angry too. We should have figured out what to do together.”

“I’m sorry, sir,” Kaylin says with a sniffle. “I just panicked.”

“I know.” Tomorrow might start with me knocking out Falkin’s teeth... “We’re in this together.”

I continue to spank him for a few more minutes. This is the first time I’ve spanked someone I’m dating, at least as an actual punishment. I haven’t been keeping count, I just pay attention to Kaylin’s and my own signals for when we both feel like he’s had enough.

When I’m finished, he lays in my lap for a minute, before moving to straddle me. He throws his arms around my neck, silently sobbing into my shirt as I stroke my hands down his back. When he finally pulls back enough that I can see his face, his eyes look a little dilated and I realize he’s fallen at least partially into subspace.

I carefully move him from my lap, laying him on his side on my bed. I get up, grabbing a glass and filling it with water that I bring back to Kaylin. After carefully making sure he drinks all of it, I strip off my own clothes and crawl into bed behind him. I wrap my arms around him, stroking my hands down his chest as he relaxes.

“You were a good boy for me, Kaylin,” I whisper into his ear. “You took that punishment very well.”

“Thank you, sir,” he answers in just as soft a voice. “I’m sorry, again.”

“All is forgiven,” I tell him, kissing the back of his neck.

I keep petting my boy until his breathing slows and he finally nods off. Today could have gone better, but this next week is going to be a real tough one for both of us I fear. But we can deal with that when it comes. For now, I just hold him, until we’re both fast asleep.