System Overclocked 2 -ch 10- (Patreon)

Closing the Duct door behind him, Wrench started walking toward the Supply Depot.

Nearly running Stripe over.

She’d stepped in front of him when his back was turned and stood there.

Grabbing her by the shoulders he stutter stepped to the side and brought her along. Thankfully he got his balance quickly and only ended up spinning Stripe to the side and forced her a step.

“I’m so sorry!” Stripe apologized, her hands quickly grasping to his forearms. “I didn’t-ah… I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine,” Wrench said with a chuckle. He let go of his grip on her, but then put his right hand into her left, and held onto it. He even went as far as to push his fingers through hers. “I’m glad you wanted to come with me. We haven’t had a chance to talk at all since we came here.”

“We’ve… been busy,” Stripe acknowledged, then squeezed his hand. “Very busy. I can’t deny I miss our chats as well though. I’ve been so exhausted at the end of every day though that I just want to sleep.”

“You’ve definitely been putting in the hours and the work. You’re working just as hard as everyone else if not more so.

“It’s impressive you know. Really impressive. You’re already better than a lot of Fixers I’ve met.”

“Mm, thank you very much for telling me. It’s good to know that. I’ll continue to work as hard as I have, the reassurance is motivating,” Stripe confessed, tilting her head to the side and looking at him in an odd way.

“I… really miss talking to you, Stripe,” Wrench mumbled under her gaze. He always felt like there was more beneath the surface with Stripe. She acted like a young Solo but was always surprising him. Always making him reconsider what was going on with her. “I wish I could explain how much it meant to me.”

“I think I have a pretty good idea. You make me feel confident in all things, you know. Assured. This bleeds into what I’ve been thinking about us. What we have,” Stripe answered, her gaze turning ahead again. They were moving toward the Upper Field now. “And before you get nervous, or worried about silly things, I’ll remind you now that I advised you to keep your agreement with Dusky and the School. I also told you to take care of Seventh.

“A Hume’s life is never truly their own. In your case, your life is most certainly not your own. That doesn’t even include our dear Goodie. There are other factors to our Hab life that have to be maintained, for everyone to feel safe.

“Secure. And if everyone feels safe, everyone is secure, than we can avoid all-all the bad things that happen in a Hab. If we happen to get some bad people, we can handle them as well.

“But that goes back to you being not just-just ah… just for me. Just someone I can have to myself. I have to share you to a degree and I can do that.

“I don’t want to stop what we’re doing or where we’re going. I want to keep pursuing this and where we’re taking it.”

Wrench let out a low and slow breath. He was glad to hear that news. Glad to hear what she’d said.

An itchy, tickling sensation, had been crawling over the back of his mind. Digging at lurking thoughts that he didn’t want to consider.

That by going through with his statement for Seventh, and every night sense, he was endangering his budding relationship with Stripe.

By all accounts, of which Stripes mattered the most, no one was upset with this situation. No one was harmed and no one had an issue.

Seventh knew where they stood and how he was angled toward Stripe. Told to her by Stripe no less per Seventh’s admission.

Stripe had been the one to direct him and reaffirmed it for him.

Dusky didn’t seem to care one way or the other.

Joy didn’t count one way or the other since she wasn’t actually involved in his love life. To be honest, while Wrench couldn’t deny lusting for her physically, he didn’t actually want to get involved with her emotionally.

If he was being true to his thoughts, he wasn’t sure he could separate Joy from Pain. Especially if it became a sexual relationship.

“You were worried,” deduced Stripe.

“Of course I was. I’m sleeping with others, while trying to… uh… get in a relationship with you,” Wrench mumbled.

“That’s how many things happen in Habs, Wrench,” argued Stripe, squeezing his hand inside her own. “This is so common that it’s barely worth mentioning. To be fair, this is just Hume life.

“You’ve heard Seventh talk about her parents. I think they’ve had more partners in a month than most would consider over their life. Humes are Humes and our lives are not our own.”

Wrench felt somewhat dirty at her words.

She was right of course.

He’d even fought for the freedom of the Hume and lost more people that he cared about. Lost more than just his own life and gave everything to it.

All for gains so small in the end that he wasn’t even sure if it mattered to anyone other than the cell he’d been working out of.

Given all he’d done, he felt unclean because while she was right, there was no answer that he could give her. Even in fighting for their freedom, nothing could or would be gained even if everyone gave their lives.

“That’s alright. I think Goodie will stay by her word,” Stripe continued. “She’ll do more for us than we probably could do on our own.

“While it sounds somewhat… uhm, lazy, I suppose, that’s our best option. Rely on Goodie and hope she does all she can for us.”

I-yeah.

Yeah, that.

We’ll just rely on Goodie.

She’ll take care of things and—

A deep thrumming went through the Hab. An assembly call just as it had issued the other day.

There was a thump in the back of Wrench’s head and he could feel the implant attempting to take him over. To force his body to move against his will.

Then promptly sputtered out.

The resistance had determined that with the vast majority of implants that Hume had in their heads, one could deactivate them with a heavy dose of radiation.

So heavy a dose that without the proper tools to cleanse the radiation one would be dead within forty-eight hours.

He’d been unsure if they’d been able to administer enough radiation given they only had a low-end scanner that he could break to the point that it was dangerous, but it seemed his worries were unfounded.

“That hurt,” grunted Stripe, reaching up to the back of her head with her right hand. She pushed at her skull, right where the implant was. “I take it that was it trying to take control of us?”

“Yeah, that’s exactly what it was,” confirmed Wrench. “Let’s head over to our Fixer position and see whats going on. Given the logs, this is way too fast. Way, way too fast.

“This is the Tongsta coming back as soon as it could just as it said. Their sense of time is so radically different than our own that for all we know it left and just got back.”

Stripe sighed, glanced over her shoulder at what he suspected was the Ducts, but kept walking with him. Hand in hand they moved across the Upper Field to the assembly area.

“If I’m the one the Tongsta is looking for, hiding would only make the truth obvious,” he said. “Otherwise I’d most certainly hide. For now, it’s just better to play along.”

“I know. I agree. I just… I’m a Solo. My first instinct is to run and hide,” confessed Stripe with a shrug of her shoulders. “Alot of my instincts are like that. To make everything less visible and disappear.”

I wonder if that’s why she squeezes herself into clothes that don’t fit her.

Even Seventh mentioned it the other day that Stripe was much bigger in the chest than she let on. It’s gotta be her instincts.

It only took them five minutes to make it to the Fixer assembly area. Seventh and Joy caught up to them at a quick walk before they made it there as well.

“It really didn’t do anything at all,” Joy reported as they settled into position. “It did hurt a bit though. Like pulling a brush through my hair too fast.”

Of course she’ll bring up a brush.

That was so much of a soothing method for her that anyone who knew her, knew her of her brush collection. Or, uh, it had been in her other life.

Sounds like it carried over to this one.

Seventh on the other hand, looked frustrated.

Incredibly, absolutely, beyond a doubt, frustrated.

“Uh, you okay? Does it hurt?” Wrench asked, holding Seventh’s gaze when she looked at him. “You seem agitated.”

“I’m fine. I’m okay. I’m not in pain or anything. It’s not controlling me or anything either,” Seventh growled out between grit teeth.

“Then what’s wrong?” Wrench prodded. If something was the matter, he wanted to know about it now. Before the Tongsta showed up and things probably went to shit.

“I’m fine. It’s fine. I just-the implant-fuck, you wanna know? I’m dripping. I’m a fucking damn river right now and it won’t stop! I can feel it just dribbling down- it’s fine! Okay? I’m fine. It’s okay,” Seventh said in a voice that was on the edge of actual hysterics. “I’m okay. I just-I’m-I can’t-my body just-I want to have sex so bad and it feels like I’m right on the edge of finish! Whatever-what-whatever is happening is making me my body just want to go find a bed. Now.

“I just really want to go lie down, take care of things, then have a shower. I really want that. Or other things. I’m fine though. I’m fine. Just, really bent out of shape for some action.”

There’d been a moment where it seemed like Seventh lost her cool, then reigned it in. He didn’t think she’d be ready for any serious thinking right now, but she could probably fight well enough if she had to.

Wincing, shaking her head, Seventh put her back to Wrench and faced Stripe instead. The much smaller Solo began talking to her quietly.

Wrench gave them space and ignored it all.

If it was him, or like his shower incident with his Endocrine system, then he wanted to give her that space. Space he knew he’d have needed if he’d been around people when he fiddled with his systems.

Suddenly, the Tongsta appeared above them.

Wrench could see them clearly as they weren’t even trying to hide themselves. They didn’t seem to mind being seeing at all.

Instead, a thin tendril of a tentacle reached into the Hab and prodded at something. Then it gave up on whatever it was.

“Deal with it later. Not important,” muttered the Tongsta. Then their tentacle extended again. “Oh, that opens. Huh. This is kind of neat. It’s like a xxhht. I’ll just… leave it there then.

“Probably will help separate them apart anyways. No more having to get up from xxhht to xxhht. Now… let’s just get ready.”

The Tongsta put down the same tool from last time.

In no time at all, all the Hume began filing through it.

Once again, the Tongsta quickly netted out Hume. This time she took nearly a hundred of them. Halving the number of School outright and draining almost all of the Solo’s.

They were all plucked out an dropped into carriers. Then those were pulled away and set aside.

When Seventh, Joy, Stripe, and Wrench went through, none of them were thankfully grabbed. In fact the Tongsta seemed annoyed that they went through the tool.

It didn’t say anything but the noises it made weren’t pleasant.

When everything was done, the population of the Hab had been halved.

Then, out of nowhere, a massive carrier was sat down on the far side of the Upper Field. The Tongsta tipped it sideways and easily twice the number of those that’d been taken left the carrier.

Stumbling around on the Upper Field area and then going rigid and still as the Assembly took over their bodies. They didn’t move and merely stood there.

Curiously, there was a lot of young Hume in this batch. Almost all of them in fact looked to be just over the age that they’d be able to be adopted out.

“There you are,” said the Tongsta a second before Wrench was scooped up. “Alright. Let’s go make some money. It cost me way more than I wanted but it’s worth it. You just need to help me out by doing your Hume thing. Hume breed so fast so this shouldn’t take long at all.”

Ah, I guess it’s that time. I didn’t expect it, if I’m being honest. I probably should have.

Wrench was deposited into a carrier and the sides were closed. He had no idea where he was going or what was happening.

Well, that’s not true.

I do know what I’m going toward and why.

This Tongsta is going to breed me out and try to make money off any kids. If I get any of the Hume pregnant, you better believe they’ll keep a female offspring if possible and sell the rest.

Goodie, where are you?

***

It took the better part of an hour Wrench figured, but it felt like he was finally put down. The carrier wasn’t trembling wildly as if they were moving around constantly.

“Okay. Hm,” the Tongsta said. “I just need to make sure they’re all ready here first.”

Sitting in the carrier, Wrench could only imagine that whatever the Tongsta was doing, was prepping something for him and their goal.

Hopefully it wasn’t anything too terrible.

His experience with being studded out was very limited. It’d never occurred in his previous life. He’d been a Fixer and a resistance fighter, never a stud.

“Alright, they definitely seem ready. Now I just introduce the stud into the Pens and… and that’s it. Right?” asked the Tongsta to what Wrench assumed was itself. “That’s what the breeder said. That I introduce the stud to the Hume and just leave it at that. They already did all the Mender things to the Hume females so… yeah, okay.”

Yeah… definitely being studded out.

Ah well. There’s worse things.

Much worse things.

The carrier Wrench was in was once more jostled about before the front of it was pulled open. Which unfortunately was far brighter than he was expecting.

Holding a hand over his brow he exited the carrier and tried to figure out where he was.

The light was coming from above and his eyes were adjusting rather quickly. It was an indirect light that was rather good for what it did, the carrier had just been too dark for him.

He heard the carrier being pulled away from behind him and he looked up and over his shoulder. It was just in time to see the Tongsta above closing the top of the Hab.

It was an odd looking top to be sure. Not to mention he could tell already that it was made of a material that’d let the Tongsta watch, but not let them see the Tongsta.

Beyond that though, the Hab as a whole was rather strange. It had the look of the interior of a building, in fact.

Looking to the walls, Wrench saw that the interior of the Hab did indeed have the appearance of a building’s interior. Or more specifically, a Pen.

A home.

Decorations, warm colors, and even a mirror that left Wrench feeling strange.

Turning his gaze to the surroundings, he found a great deal of furniture was strung about as well.

Chairs, tables, bookcases, a couch, pillows, and a good amount of decorative furniture as well. There was also a large number of entertainment objects such as toys and books laid about.

Glancing about, and deliberately avoiding looking at the other Hume he knew he was here with, he saw that there were several rooms nearby as well. As well as another gathering area for everyone to be inside of.

He could see into one that was most certainly a bedroom.

Holy crap. This is like Lovely’s little room all over again.

Turning to face those he was with he finally acknowledged their presence. Up to this point he hadn’t really wanted to for fear of what would happen as soon as he did.

There were at least twenty or so Hume with him in the room.

They were all extremely pretty. One and all, they were extremely good looking.

Not as pretty as Lovely or Pretty-Girl, but not too far from it.

They also ranged the whole of possible hair types, eye color, and body shapes. There were more than a few that Wrench had a problem not staring at openly.

“Hi,” said a young woman at the front of the group. She was very attractive, overly developed compared to any Hume he’d come across, and had short blonde-hair and pale blue eyes. “I’m Belle! What’s your name?”

Ah… yeah.

Yeah.

There’s some very uninspired Tongsta and some names end up being repeated. Belle was a really common name.

So was Pretty-Girl, wasn’t it?

“I’m Wrench,” he answered, barely able to rip his eyes off Belle. He couldn’t lie that she was an incredible looking woman.

“Uhm, this is a really weird Hab, isn’t it?” asked a different woman.

Wrench glanced at her, saw she was just as beautiful as Belle, and even more overly-developed in the waist and chest. He smiled at her a bit grimly.

“It isn’t really a Hab,” he admitted. It now seemed obvious that they had no idea what was going on.

He’d only had to look at them for a few moments to realize they were all just old enough to be adopted as adult Hume. Whoever this Tongsta was, they went to a nearby Hume breeder and got the best quality they could probably afford.

“Are you a specialty Hume like us?” asked another woman. “We’re all from Beyond-Hume.”

The slim, athletic, and dark haired woman lifted up her shirt to show off incredibly toned muscles and her tattooed abdomen.

She had several tattoos there. Likely meaning she was a specific genetic line or type of Hume as well as where she came from.

Yep… high end Hume genetics.

The Tongsta definitely bought some expensive Hume for this experiment.

“Kind of. I’m a unique breeding-line,” Wrench muttered, then sighed. There was no way around it, and if he didn’t perform, he knew the Tongsta could try to do something about it.

He hadn’t missed the fact that the Tongsta was still around. They were outside of the Hab and likely watching through the top of the Hab.

He could delay some, but not to the point that it’d be obvious.

“You are? Oh! Then we’re all here to be studded, aren’t we?” proclaimed another woman somewhere in the group. “How wonderful. Beyond-Hume specializes in breeding and studding! We’re all from highly covetted lines and have extreme fertility.”

“Yes,” Belle agreed, taking several steps toward him. “I’m so glad that you’re a good looking Hume, too. A lot of our Admini were once Beyond-Hume breeders that returned when they were done. Some of them had very unpleasant experiences.

“Can you… can you please make sure this isn’t like that for us? Studding isn’t an issue and we’ll do our best for as long as we’re here. Happily, in fact. This is what we’ve been born, bred, and trained for!”

Oh, I get it.

They’re all different looks because the Tongsta went and got one of every type, so to speak. They’re hopping I’ll get them all pregnant.

Then they can corner the market for each type of Hume later.

“Yeah,” promised Wrench with a sigh. He was disappointed once again with how Hume viewed their own lives, let alone what they were made to do. It made him want to join the resistance all over again if to just feel like he was doing something. “Yeah, I’ll make sure it isn’t an issue. There’s no reason sex shouldn’t be pleasant.”

“Wonderful! Uhm, then… who should go first?” Belle asked, tilting her head to one side. “Did you have a preference or a choice?”

Ah… well… I guess that’s that.

I can regret the life situation of being a Hume but… but I can at least enjoy myself. There’s no reason not to.