Kathryn Gibson, aka Evening Star, angled her body forward and strained into the strapping of her leather harness, feeling everything get that much tighter, as they started up the hill. She dug the front edge of her boots into the ground to get more purchase, the metal hooves causing the earth to fly up as she did so. The strain started to show as she tensed her muscles, the definition in her calves, thighs and buttocks becoming much clearer, and her abdomen clenched into a fair impression of a six-pack.

The thin strap between her legs also dug a little deeper into her shaved sex, making the lips bulge even more prominently around it, and sending a jolt of sexual energy through her body.

She glanced momentarily to her right, and saw that her friend, Kel - or Rosetta Girl, as she was known as here - was increasing her own work rate proportionately, so that they each took an equal share of the extra effort required to pull the sulky to which they were harnessed up the steep incline.

"C'mon, girls, put your backs into it!"

This rather unnecessary command was emphasised by a series of flicks of the whip, delivered with expert aim and precision to the flanks and buttocks of both women in quick succession. The 'encouragement' had the desired effect though, making them strain even harder, in an effort to satisfy the harsh task-master driving them on.

This particular hill was known as The Killer among the ponygirls, and Kathryn could feel her lungs burning as she gasped for breath when they were only halfway up it. But she refused to be beaten by it, as many others had, especially as she knew that Kel, ten years her junior and super-fit, would be having no trouble. She bit down hard on the rubber bar between her teeth and screwed her face up at the intense effort required just to put one foot in front of the next. She could feel the sweat running down her naked body in the hot sun, and she was starting to regret not having done more exercise since their last visit to the farm.

At last they breasted the top of the hill, to be greeted by the welcome sight of the water trough and standing pipe, strategically placed there for the benefit of teams in need of refreshment after the arduous climb. Kathryn felt her breasts lifted by the reins pulling on the small nipple clamps, indicating they should slow, then a tug on her right breast guided them into a shallow turn, and then to a halt.

The driver, who on this occasion was the head groom, Susan, jumped down from the buggy, came around and released the two women from the shafts. Kathryn immediately headed for the trough, sinking to her shaking knees and dipping her whole head - harness, bit, bridle and all - under the surface of the cool water. Meanwhile, Kel knelt down by the tap.

"Nnh uhh!" she whined around the bit in her mouth, and Susan, with a smile, came over and turned it on, a task the other was incapable of doing, with her arms folded up behind her and encased in the leather pouch which formed part of her harness. Susan plunged her head under the icy cold water, and let out of squeal of shock and delight as it ran down her body.

After they had cooled down and regained their breath, the two ponies struggled back to their feet, ready to be put back in harness. As she watched Susan re-attach the reins to her friend's nipples, threading the leather thongs through the steel rings at either end of the bit between her teeth, Kathryn gazed once again in wonder at Kel's body. Her skin was almost ebony, so dark it was difficult to see the leather straps tightly encircling it, and it glistened from the thin sheen of sweat which coated it. There wasn't an ounce of spare fat on her five foot 9 inch body, though her musculature and bone structure still gave her a stunningly curvy figure. Tight curls of black hair shone on her head underneath the straps of her halter, which held the thick rubber bit between her full red lips, offering the occasional glimpse of her flawless, white teeth. She was the perfect ponygirl, Kathryn thought, beauty and power in equal measure.

She felt her own body literally paled in comparison, though for a woman of 33, she was in excellent condition. A strict regime of gym exercise maintained an overall level of fitness she'd had since her early teens, when she was a very keen sportswoman. She was slightly shorter than Kel, although the hoof boots, with their six inch platforms which splayed out to fit a full-size horseshoe, made her feel like a giant. Her white skin generally held an all-over, all-year-round tan, as she loved being outdoors in the nude, whether walking in the countryside, sunbathing on the beach, or here at the stables.

The run back to the stables was easy from the top of the hill, although at more than two miles, it took them over an hour of trotting and walking to complete it. As they approached the main buildings of the estate, Susan decided to give them a last 'blast' down the smooth drive, working them up to a full run, using the whip liberally to ensure they gave as much as they could. It was a difficult skill, one which the two women had worked on as a team for months, but they made a magnificent sight, flying along the wide road, the wind blowing through their hair, spittle flecking from their mouths, and their breasts bouncing within the tight confines of the harness.

Both were blowing hard as they finally trotted into the stable yard, to be met by a round of applause from the three stable lads who had witnessed their sprint. Two of them came over and helped the women out of the shafts, while the third wheeled the sulky into the stable.

"Thank you for the ride, girls," Susan said, sliding a sugar cube into each of their mouths. "Harry, William, give them a good rubdown and feed before you stable them, please."

Kathryn luxuriated under the spray as the stable boys hosed them down, rubbing the sweat and grime of the ride away with soft cloth mits. She felt her excitement and frustration grow as Harry ran his hand over her breasts, stomach, and then down to her thighs and buttocks. She spread her legs, allowing him better access, while at the same time letting out a whine, which they both knew meant she was begging him to press harder and deeper. But the young man smiled, knowing it was against the rules for any member of staff to have a sexual 'encounter' with any of the clients, however much that client might want it. He would go just so far, as far as he could go, then leave the woman hanging, panting for release.

When he was finished, the groom removed the bit from Kathryn's mouth, led her to the water trough, where she took a long and welcome draught, then fitted her with her 'nose bag' - the bag was hessian, with handles that hooked over the blinkers on either side of her face, and contained small nutrition pellets. She hadn't eaten since breakfast, and devoured the rather tasteless lumps eagerly.

Harry led Kathryn into the stable block, where Kel was already waiting for her, expectantly. Once the grooms had left them alone, the older woman went over to her friend, and with a smile, brushed her body against the dark skin of the other. It was as though a spark of electricity passed between them, and their lips, free for the first time, met in a deep and passionate kiss. Urgently, they pushed their bodies together, unable to use their arms to fondle and excite each other as they desperately wanted. Their breasts squashed together as they hungrily explored each other's mouth with their tongues.

They sank down onto the fresh straw of the stall and spun around, so that each was now facing the other's groin. Kathryn drank in the smell of her lover's arousal, before starting to stroke her swollen labia with her eager tongue. Kel moaned ecstatically at the feeling bursting inside her, as she tried to reciprocate, seeking to force her tongue under and around the leather strap, which dove into Kathryn's sex, shielding her clitoris from all attempts to reach it. The two women were driving each other mad with desire, but release was tantalisingly withheld.

"Bridge to Captain Gibson, Bridge to Captain Gibson."

Kathryn tried to ignore the intrusion, but after a few seconds, she gave up and raised her head. Kel let out an animalistic howl of frustration.

"This is Gibson, go ahead, Bridge," she said into the still, warm air of the stable.

"Captain, we're picking up an automated distress signal from a Federation starship in this quadrant, but no vessels are scheduled to be in this vicinity."

"On my way," Kathryn replied with a sigh, then gave the command "Simulation Off."

The stable, yard and estate all faded out of existence, along with the boots, harnesses and arm binders they were wearing, and the two women were back on the holodeck of FPV Endeavour, the Federation Patrol Vessel assigned to the Gamma quadrant.

"Why does this always happen during our R&R period?" Kel moaned as they moved to the dressing stations.

"The privileges of command," Kathryn replied sardonically, holding herself in a star position, as the machine made two passes over her body. The first removed any lingering dirt and sweat, the second encased her in the standard-issue, one-piece bodysuit, adorned with the captain's insignia. Meanwhile, Kel was now covered neck-to-toe with the uniform of the Chief of Security, her due rank. Kathryn noted how it singularly failed to disguise the glorious body underneath, the body which, only moments ago, she had been pleasuring. After a chaste kiss, the two senior officers exited the holodeck and headed for the bridge.

"Status report, Mr Suarez," Kathryn called out, as she strode onto the bridge and headed for the command chair.

"Captain," the science officer, Miranda Suarez, began, as she crossed from her position, "the signal is coming from the USS Magellan, which was patrolling this quadrant six months ago, when Starfleet lost contact."

"So, what's the emergency? What do they need?"

"The ship is in standard orbit around the 4th planet of the Dervinius system, Captain. The distress signal is triggered automatically if the orbit starts to decay." Kathryn frowned.

"That's odd. Why would they allow the orbit to decay and risk the ship burning up in the atmosphere? Have you managed to make contact with them yet?"

"They are not responding to our hails, Captain," the young communications officer cut in.

"Lay in an intercept course, Mr Bale, ahead warp factor 4." She turned to her security chief.

"Mr A'Teran, prepare a boarding party, mixed security and engineering."

"Aye, Captain," Kel responded, turning on her heel and heading for the turbolift.

- o O o -

"Coming up on the Magellan now, Captain," Lieutenant Bale reported.

"Okay, Mr Suarez, what is going on?" Kathryn asked in a worried tone.

"No hull breach or sign of damage, Captain," the science officer said, as she scanned the responses coming from her instruments, "atmosphere is normal, but there are no life signs."

"What? You mean they're all dead? That ship carries a crew of four hundred!"

"I don't believe they are dead", she continued calmly, "it appears they are not on board. All the shuttle craft are also absent." Kathryn punched the communications button on the arm of her chair.

"Transporter room. Transport the boarding party to the Magellan. And Kel?"

"Yes, Captain?" the security chief replied.

"Find out where they went, and why. But be careful." And come back alive, she thought, but couldn't say.

- o O o -

"Boarding party to Captain Gibson."

"Yes, Kel."

"Captain, the ship's log shows that they used the shuttles to go down to the planet's surface, on the captain's direct order, but there is no explanation of why."

"Why use the shuttles? Why not just transport down?" Kathryn asked.

"I can answer that, ma'am," Suarez interjected, "there is an ionisation layer in the planet's atmosphere which prevented them from transporting down. It is also preventing our scans from identifying any features of the surface or detecting any life signatures."

"Okay. Kel, leave the engineering team on board as a skeleton crew to stabilise the ship's orbit. Then you'd better transport back here - we're going down to the planet to find some answers!"

The away team, consisting of the captain, Science Officer Suarez, Security Chief A'Teran, and four security staff, descended quickly to the planet's surface in one of the Endeavour's shuttle craft, tense and alert to any danger. Kathryn had left strict orders that no-one was to follow them down - if they didn't report back or return within 48 hours, they should contact Starfleet for further orders.

"According to the log," Kel explained, "Captain Jane Villiers went to the surface alone, then returned to the ship and ordered the rest of the crew to shuttle down in relays, until there was no-one left on board. Bizarre."

"Well," Kathryn replied, "I will be very interested to find out what this Jane Villiers has to say for herself. I seem to remember she was a few years ahead of me in the Academy. Top of every class, first in her year, graduated with honours, youngest woman ever to be awarded a command. Why would she do something so against regulations - and common sense - as leaving her ship unmanned?"

"Captain," Suarez interrupted, "we are now below the ionisation layer, and our sensors are picking up a large population centre. I'm not picking up any transmissions, so I would speculate the technological development here is quite primitive."

"Okay, put us down about 5 kilometres away, and we can then approach with caution."

The shuttle craft glided to a standard landing, and the party disembarked without incident. They proceeded towards the settlement, positioning two of the security team as point guards to identify any threats early. They had advanced a couple of kilometres towards their goal, when they picked up life signs in their vicinity.

"I'm suddenly getting readings from every direction, Captain," Suarez remarked, and then everything seemed to happen at once.

The lead scout to their right suddenly collapsed to the ground - there had been no sound, nothing had obviously changed, his legs just seemed to crumple below him. The other scout had time to withdraw and brandish his phaser, before he too went down without even a cry. Instinctively, the remaining five members of the party drew themselves into a circle, phasers drawn, trying to identify where the attack was coming from. Kathryn felt a sharp sting on her neck, pulled out the dart that had penetrated the skin, and felt her legs buckle. She heard her name being shouted, but she was unconscious before she hit the ground.

She wasn't sure how long she was out, she didn't think it was long, but things had changed drastically in that short time. She found that a long metal bar had been locked to her neck, with her wrists manacled to either end of it, preventing her from bring her arms to her sides. Her ankles had also been restrained, with manacles joined by a short hobble chain.

Her two female colleagues, Kel and Miranda, were similarly restrained, though it appeared Kel had been able to put up rather more of a fight - her uniform was ripped away at one shoulder, and a tear across her stomach showed a bleeding cut underneath. The four male security officers, however, had been chained together, with metal collars around their necks, and their hands chained behind their backs.

"Is everybody alright?" she asked and, having received positive acknowledgements, turned her attention to their captors.

The five starship personnel were surrounded by what appeared to be a hunting party of 'savages', somewhat similar to Amazonian Indians on ancient Earth. They were all male, and wore loin cloths, body paint, jewellery, and not a lot else. They wore knives at the waist, brandished spears, and carried the blowpipes which had clearly been used to render the away team powerless, and their 24th century technology irrelevant.

Kathryn tried all her language skills, and the others added a myriad of other languages, but nothing worked in establishing a dialogue. The natives seemed content to use sign language and the tips of their spears to convey the message that the captives should get up and start walking.

It took an hour under the hot sun to reach the settlement, and they were all sweating profusely by the time they made it. As the approached what looked like a city made of mud buildings, the party split into two, and the four security men were led away down a narrow alley. Kathryn tried to protest, but only received a poke in the ribs with a spear for her troubles.

The women were led down a series of narrow streets and alleys into the heart of the cramped city, passing houses where women worked and children played. None wore any more than the hunters who had captured them, and the younger children ran around naked. All were fascinated by the passage of the strangely-dressed outsiders, and on occasion they crowded around the three women, touching and pinching them. There seemed a lot of conversation and pointing at Kel's dark skin, as well as the green tinge to Miranda's looks, perfectly natural for a native of the Koralian system.

At last they came to an open space, and before them Kathryn saw an enormous building, far out of scale to the other humble dwellings they had passed, its vast edifice made of wooden pillars, infilled with mud, and inlaid with colourful pieces of glass and stone. The captain could only surmise that this was the seat of power, whether administrative, royal, or religious, she could not guess. But it was clearly their destination, as the men hustled them up the steps to the entrance.

Here, they stopped, and the men looked nervous. After a few minutes, half a dozen women emerged from the building, and Kathryn could immediately see they were different to the people they had passed in the city. These women were uniformly young and beautiful and, though they also only wore clothes up to the waist, those clothes were made of a shimmering, silvery material. Shiny metal bands circled their wrists, biceps, necks, and they also wore headbands holding their luxuriant, black hair, which fell to halfway down their backs. They even had metal bracelets around their breasts, with small shiny caps covering their nipples. Kathryn's initial thought was that they looked like handmaidens or acolytes.

The women clipped a chain to the collar on each of the captives, and led them through the entrance. The hunters, their task completed, melted away into the streets, their relief to be away from there clear. They were led up, on rising slopes, into the centre of the building, which opened out into what was clearly a throne room. The throne itself dominated the room, the seat lifting the occupant several feet above the floor, into a position of dominance.

Next to the throne stood another woman, dressed in a similar style but even more grandly than the acolytes. Her demeanour was haughty, and she was obviously more important than the others - a high priestess, maybe, Kathryn thought. And there, sitting on the throne was ... Captain Jane Villiers!

She was naked, except for what looked like body glitter sprinkled over her, which had clumped around her nipples and genitals. She also wore an impressively tall headdress, which sparkled with gold and jewels. A beatific smile wreathed her face.

"Welcome, sky people!" the starship captain said, in a dreamy, distant voice. The three women in front of her exchanged glances, involving raised eyebrows.

"Kneel before the Goddess She-Ra!" she exclaimed, and the acolytes forced them down onto their knees, then kept pushing, until their foreheads were pressed against the dirt floor. Kathryn watched as her 'minder' slipped a ring of the chain at her neck onto a spike driven into the earth, preventing her from raising her head.

"Leave us!" Captain Villiers commanded, and she watched as the priestess and acolytes dutifully filed out of the room. When they were gone, the semi-naked goddess descended from her throne, and walked to where the prisoners were tethered.

"So, finally, Starfleet have sent someone to investigate the disappearance of one of their ships of the line. But what a motley crew they have sent - a junior officer from the Academy, a refugee from the Cynderach Civil War, and a poor man's Vulcan from Kora! And you expect to capture me, and bring me back to face Federation justice?!" The contempt dripped from every word.

"I'm Captain Gibson of the FPV Endeavour, and I hereby arrest you for breach of the Prime Directive -"

Kathryn's speech was cut short as she felt her face pressed into the dirt by the bare foot on the back of her neck.

"I know who you are, Kathryn. I can see into your soul! I know your puny ship of 100 is your first command, and you're frightened to death you might lose it. I know you are an orphan, brought up by rescue workers who found you adrift in a life raft from your parents' derelict freighter. I know of your relationship with your security officer here. And... oh how delightful! I know about your little ponygirl fetish! You are more interesting than you at first appear, Captain!"

Kathryn was shocked - no-one knew all that about her, not even Kel!

"Now," the Captain continued, "I'm sure you have a million questions, and I will answer them in due time, but for now, I have to allow people to worship me."

She clapped her hands, and the acolytes re-entered the throne room.

"Take them to the holding pens! I will deal with them after prayers."

The young women led the officers away through another door, down and out of the building, until they came to a river. Kathryn could see a cage, made from a bamboo-like plant and fashioned into a tubular wooden frame, lying half submerged in the water.

They started with Miranda, suspending her from a tree branch by the chain at her neck, until her feet were hardly touching the ground. They removed the manacles from her ankles then, to Kathryn's astonishment, cut the one-piece garment from her body, leaving her naked. They unlocked her wrists, but immediately chained them together behind her back, before removing the yoke and chain from her neck. Several of them then picked up her struggling form, carried it to the cage, and dropped her into it through the small opening in the top. The green-skinned Koralian hit the water and disappeared under the surface, before finally righting herself and getting her feet below her to stand on the submerged floor of the cage, the water now swirling around her breasts.

Next, it was Kel's turn. She fought harder, even getting a good kick in on a couple of the women trying to hold her, but the result was the same. Soon, all three of them were standing, naked and bound, in the cage. Ropes were loosened and, to their consternation, they felt the cage lowering, until the water was up around their chins. But the descent stopped there, leaving them to struggle to stay balanced on their toes, lest they drown.

"Did you see her eyes?" Kathryn commented thoughtfully, once they had tried and failed to get free.

"She looked mad, or drugged, or both," Kel replied.

"Pardon me for asking, Captain, but was what she said about you true?" Miranda asked.

"Yes, totally," Kathryn replied, with no shame or embarrassment, "it was like she had read - no, like she was reading my mind."

"She had her foot on your throat," Miranda mused, "maybe the physical contact is important. Perhaps there was a telepathic link."

"But she's human, she's not at telepath?" Kel objected.

"Certain drugs have been known to give a degree of at least empathetic link," the science officer explained.

"What do you think about that remark about being a goddess?" Kathryn prompted.

"This is clearly a matriarchal, and religious, society," Miranda responded, "it is quite possible that, when she arrived, alone, from the skies, they assumed she was a god."

"That makes sense," Kathryn agreed, "but what made her violate the Prime Directive?"

"The power of a goddess might corrupt the strongest person," Kel interjected.

"But ... what happened to her crew? How could she betray them, and Starfleet, like that?"

"I don't want to worry anyone," Miranda interrupted, "but I have a feeling that this river may be tidal - the water's getting deeper!"

The other two women realised she was right, and there began a desperate struggle to try to keep their heads above water. After gripping the bars of the cage between their knees, and trying to tread water with their wrists weighed down by chains, they had to resort to taking turns at ducking under the surface and supporting the other two. As the sun began to go down, the struggle became more and more desperate.

The three women were at the point of exhaustion, when they felt the cage rise, and they saw that the young acolytes had returned, and were now swinging the cage out of the river onto dry land.

Released from the cage, wrists still chained behind their backs, they were marched back into the temple, and up to the throne room.

"Ah, ladies! So good to see you again, still alive!" Jane Villiers seemed in high spirits, as she ordered the priestesses to tie them to wooden frames, before leaving them alone with 'the Goddess'.

"You'll never get away with this," Kathryn stated, with all the gravitas she could muster. But Jane just laughed out loud.

"Oh, Captain, that is such an old line!" she smiled. "But I realise I made a mistake leaving the Magellan up there, I was still a little unsure that this was where I wanted to stay for the rest of my life. I won't make that mistake again. Both ships will burn up in the atmosphere when I am finished with them."

"You think Starfleet is going to just let you go, after you've destroyed two starships and killed 500 personnel?" Kathryn was starting to realise just how mad the erstwhile captain was.

"Oh, they're not dead," Jane retorted, "the men are working as slave labour in the mines, and the women are serving as house slaves, crop pickers, or concubines."

"How could you do that to your fellow officers?" Kel spat in horror and disgust. Jane went over to her, running her fingers down her face, then taking one of the security chief's nipples between finger and thumb, and squeezing. Kel tried to bear the pain, but as the woman squeezed harder and harder, it became impossible, and she finally cried out in distress.

"Oh, I can be quite ruthless when I need to be," Jane smiled.

"So, what convinced you to stay?" Kathryn asked, trying to get her attention away from Kel. "Was it just the massive ego boost of becoming a living goddess?"

"Oh, it was partly that," Jane replied, returning to the captain, "but I discovered something incredible here!"

She reached out and pressed her fingertips to the bound woman's face. Suddenly, Kathryn's mind was full of images - Jane staggering from the burnt-out wreckage of a shuttle; hideous pain from her face and arms; being taken in by the native women; being given a drug; her mind expanding, her body recovering. Jane broke the link, and Kathryn gasped for breath, feeling overwhelmed by the traumatic experience of being assaulted by someone else's memories, thoughts, emotions.

"Do you understand now, Kathryn?" Jane cried, almost maniacally. "These people saved my life! Look at me! Look at my skin! I'm 44 years old, but now I have the skin of a 25 year old! And the vigour! And now, I am their God! And yours, too! I have the power to read your minds, maybe even turn them to my purpose, and I am immortal! Why would I ever want to leave? What are a couple of starships, a few lives, when set against immortality?"

Kathryn realised that the mind of the Starfleet officer had been unhinged, perhaps by the physical trauma of her crash, perhaps by the drug they had given her, but it had clearly tipped into a cruel and dangerous megalomania.

"What do you intend to do with us?"

"You, my dear Kathryn, are going to help me get all your people down here. Then, we are going to get rid of those ships. And then... well, I'm sure the brothels of this city can accept a few more workers."

She clapped her hands to summon her handmaidens, and gave them their instructions.

"Please take the night to consider your knee-jerk rejection of my proposal. Tomorrow, you and I will be returning to your ship, while your colleagues will stay here as hostages. And I will ensure that, if we don't return within 12 hours, these two will suffer a painful death. Do enjoy your evening!"

The officers were taken down, and led from the presence of the goddess once more, this time to the front of the temple where they had first entered. A large, interested crowd of women and children gathered to watch as they were tied to a series of posts, each in a standing spreadeagle, and gagged with a cloth stuffed into the mouth, held in place by a rope tied around the head.

As the priestesses withdrew inside the temple, the crowd became bolder, moving forward to feel the strange skin of these exotic creatures. Kathryn felt hands exploring every inch of her body, delving intrusively into every crevice. She struggled to break free of the leather thongs which held her taut between the posts, but they had been expertly tied, leaving not an inch of slack, or access to any of the knots.

As the native women became bored, they wandered away, leaving the unsupervised children to see what fun they could extract from the helpless, naked women. It started with poking fingers into anything which looked interesting, such as soft breasts, so much more round and full than those of their mothers or older sisters. Then, the boys in particular, found sticks with which to torment their victims, prodding and thrusting them into Kathryn's buttocks, and up between her legs, painfully bruising the tender flesh of her sex.

When one of them suddenly swung his stick and cracked it down hard across her buttocks, Kathryn squealed into the gag at the shock, as much as at the pain the blow caused. This only served to encourage and amuse them, and others joined in, beating her on whichever part of her body happened to be facing them, as they surrounded her, laughing at her tears.

As darkness fell, the children were called away, and Kathryn was grateful for the respite, even though the temperature was falling alarmingly. She strained to look around and see how her colleagues were doing, finding that Miranda was hanging limply in her bonds, having suffered far worse, presumably due to the novelty of her green skin. Kel looked bloodied but unbowed, and gave her captain an 'I'm okay' nod and grunt.

Two hours later, they were shivering, unable to sleep in their tight bondage and the cold night air. Kathryn heard a strange, shuffling noise, as though some creatures were creeping up on them, and peered out into the blackness. Suddenly, they were right in front of her - men, maybe a dozen, furtively sneaking into the square, as if it were a forbidden place. One of them straightened up from his crouching scuttle, and she heard him emit an animalistic grunt, then his hands fell on her, groping her breasts. More hands reached around from behind her, pulling her hair and pawing her face. Soon her buttocks were being grabbed , pinched, kneaded, fingers forcing their way up and violating her sphincter. Finally, other fingers prodded and probed at her sex, forcing her lips apart and thrusting into her vagina.

She cried out into the gag, but was powerless to prevent the violation. From the muffled cries and protests, it was clear that Kel and Miranda were faring no better, as the intrusions became more aggressive, more intimate. Eventually, one male, more dominant, drove the others away, so that he could have her to himself. Kathryn felt him behind her, gripping her hips, then he thrust into her, violently and repeatedly.

The coupling was brief, and when he was sated, the man slunk away. But he was replaced by another, and another, until Kathryn had lost count of the number of times she was raped. She hung from her bonds, exhausted, as she was used to satisfy their base needs. Eventually, she fell asleep, even as the abuse continued.

When she awoke, daylight had returned and the handmaidens were taking down the exhausted captives, and returning them to the throne room. The cloth was removed from Kathryn's mouth, but the other two remained firmly gagged.

"Good morning!" Captain Villiers greeted them brightly. "I do hope you had a good night - I heard some of the men crept into the city to 'pleasure' you, I'm sure that will have softened your resistance a little."

"I'll never sacrifice my crew to you, you know that, don't you?" Kathryn countered. The 'goddess', robed in a flowing blue loin cloth and gold bangles, looking radiant and well-rested, smiled.

"Please wait until you see the whole situation before making rash statements, Kathryn."

The young acolytes rolled out two curious structures, identical in every way - a wooden frame containing two large glass containers, one on top of the other, the top one filled with sand, the bottom one empty. Kel and Miranda were dragged forward to the devices and forced into the lower containers through a cunningly concealed door. With the door sealed behind them, they looked out at the two captains.

"They often use this torture device on captured enemies or recalcitrant slaves," Jane explained conversationally, "the sand takes exactly 12 hours to fill the bottom compartment."

As she spoke, a stream of sand grains started to fall onto Kel's head; seconds later, Miranda's compartment also started to fill.

I think we should get moving, don't you, Kathryn?" With a last, desperate look at her two subordinates, the captain following the 'goddess' out of the building.

"Here's a little surprise I've arranged for you - we're going to travel in style today!"

In the courtyard was a small, four-wheeled cart, and a couple of the young priestesses were holding leather straps and buckles - 'oh my God, she expects me to pull her in that thing!' Kathryn thought.

She stood, completely stunned, as the maidens dressed her in the harness.

"All that playing on the holodeck," Jane said, "well, it's not like the real thing is it? I had my slaves working late into the night to adapt the harness and bridle for you."

The body harness fastened around her neck, then went around her breasts, encircled her waist, and finally went down between her legs. Her wrists were locked into cuffs, which were attached to the back of the collar, holding her arms up behind her back. The head harness held a metal bit, rather than rubber, and it was much bigger than she was used to, so that she could not close her lips at all.

"Let's see," Jane said, coming over to inspect Kathryn's bondage, "I think you'll want this a little tighter."

As she said this, she pulled each of the straps around her breasts hard, until the flesh was swollen, engorged with blood, bright crimson globes contrasting with the white flesh at their base. She shortened the straps holding her wrists until her hands were raised between her shoulder blades, then fastened another strap around her arms, forcing them into an agonising reverse prayer position.

"Bend forward for me a little, Kathryn." As she reluctantly complied, she felt something pressing against her anus. The crotch strap was put over the end of this thing, and then Jane pulled on it with all her strength, gradually, but inexorably, forcing the enormous intruder into her rectum. Kathryn screamed out in pain, and two of the acolytes had to hold her, as Jane pulled the strap until the plug had been buried deep within her, and the leather was cutting into her sex. At last, Jane fastened the buckle, trapping the thing in place, leaving the poor ponygirl reeling.

She was dragged over to the cart, and chained to the shafts, whilst Jane mounted the cart and took up the reins. She gave them a flick, indicating that Kathryn should move off, but the cart was much heavier than she was used to pulling, and that with two of them. It didn't help that she had bare feet, rather than the special boots she normally wore. She was straining hard, but not getting very far.

Suddenly, she felt a searing pain across the small of her back, then another across her buttocks, and she realised that she was being whipped - but this was a real whip, not the flick of a training whip.

"Come on, Captain," Jane taunted, "you wanted to be a ponygirl - get moving!"

As the whip lashed her again, Kathryn finally got the heavy cart moving, and proceeded slowly through the narrow streets. The sight clearly amused the townspeople, and she heard raucous laughter as she passed. Every turn down the winding alleys was preceded by a sharp pull on the reins, and soon she could taste blood, as the harsh metal bit dug into the corners of her mouth.

At last, they were through the city gates and into the open country. The straggle of children who had been following them finally returned to their homes, and the two starship captains were alone. Kathryn continued to receive painful lashes across her back, buttocks and legs, and she could hear the crazed laughter of her tormentor behind her as she wielded the whip with abandon.

They had progressed a couple of kilometres, when Kathryn felt her head yanked violently to the right, and turned to see before her a narrow, stony track leading steeply upwards to the ridge above them.

"We still have plenty of time, let's take the scenic route," Villiers ordered. She slapped the reins hard against her pony and urged her onwards. Wearily, the Starfleet officer started up the steep incline, the veins standing out on her temples and her hamstrings screaming at the intense effort required to move forward.

They had been going a couple of hours under the blazing sun, and Kathryn was starting to become delirious with fatigue. She realised that she hadn't eaten since those few paltry food pellets the previous morning, and had drunk nothing since their incarceration the previous evening, when she had inadvertently swallowed several mouthfuls of river water. She was dehydrated, exhausted, and in pain. But she knew she had to keep going, if she was going to have any chance to rescue her colleagues from certain death. She bit down on the metal bar and struggled on.

At last, the shuttlecraft came into view. When she was finally released from the cart, Kathryn collapsed to the ground, not caring about the dirt clinging to her sweat-soaked body.

"Get up, slave!" Jane shouted, kicking the prostrate woman in the ribs. "Don't you want to save your friends?" She dragged her to her feet by her hair, and led her up into the small ship. Once inside, Villiers left her sprawled on the cabin floor while she stripped out of her goddess robes and used the dressing station to garb herself in a captain's uniform. Only when she had armed herself with one of the craft's phasers did she go across to her prisoner and finally release her arms.

Kathryn screamed at the pain in her shoulders, then had to wait for several minutes before life and feeling returned sufficiently for her to release herself from her extreme bondage. At last she was free of it, and staggered to the dressing station.

With both women now suited up, Villiers prompted Kathryn to take the pilot's seat and take them up to the Endeavour. U+nder threat from the phaser, Kathryn knew she had no option, but she also realised that she was so weak, she would probably lose in a straight fight with this mad woman anyway. Somehow, she had to stop her getting to the ship - the chances were that, whatever happened there, they would be too late to rescue Kel and Miranda anyway - she wondered if there was ever any intention to release them.

But she had noticed Villiers' nervousness since they had boarded the shuttle - maybe she was reliving the horrendous experience of her near-death crash and mutilation. Perhaps there was a chance...

"I think the ionisation layer is affecting the ship's controls," Kathryn explained in a worried tone, as the shuttle bucked and stalled in its ascent.

"You'd better sort it out, Captain, if you want your friends to live!" The words were threatening, but Kathryn could hear the edge of terror in her voice, and she continued to throw the small craft around the sky violently.

"I can't hold it!" she cried out. "We're going down!"

The ship suddenly pitched forward into a dive straight down. As they hurtled towards the ground, Jane screamed, dropping the phaser and grabbing at Kathryn's arm. They plummeted out of control until, seemingly only metres from impact, Jane's demons got the better of her, and she fainted. Immediately, Kathryn pulled back on the stick, and it was in the balance as to whether they had already gone too far, when the nose finally came up, and she was able to level off.

She immediately put the ship down, and used the discarded straps of the harness she had worn to securely restrain the unconscious captain in her seat before she recovered. Feeling more in control of the situation now, she flew the shuttle to within a couple of kilometres of the settlement, putting it down in a clearing in the thick undergrowth, in the hope it would not be discovered there.

She quickly changed into the discarded goddess robes, in the hope that, at a glance, she might be mistaken for the Starfleet 'deity', giving her a few seconds' advantage in any confrontation. She picked up the phaser and, after programming the security module of the shuttle so that it could only be flown or opened by her own voice command, she left the safety of the craft and headed back towards the city.

She quickly covered the ground, but when she saw the city wall, she concealed herself in the bushes, to wait for darkness. It would be a risk, as she would be cutting close to the twelve hour limit, but she knew she would be no use to her friends if she were captured.

The time seemed to pass slowly, and she was very worried that she would be too late. Eventually, with the light only just fading, she crept forward, slipping quietly through the gates and making her way towards the temple. She wasn't spotted on her journey, and made it into the building unchallenged.

Once there, however, her luck ran out and, as she turned a corner, she found herself facing four of the young women who had supervised her imprisonment and bondage earlier. They immediately charged at her, recognising both her and the clothes she wore, but they were rapidly felled by the phaser in Kathryn's hand, set to stun. She raced on upwards, finally reaching the throne room, to find that a dozen acolytes and priestesses were gathered around the glass prisons. Once again, the phaser halted their attack and left them unconscious on the floor.

Kathryn realised she had come not a moment too soon. The lower compartments of the giant egg-timers were almost full of sand and, as she ran to the first one, she saw Kel, her entire body and half her face already buried, fighting for air in the last few centimetres of free space. Her eyes widened as she saw Kathryn standing there, and the urgent look was frighteningly clear. Ignoring the door and its intricate lock, Kathryn fired her phaser at the lower corner furthest from where she estimated Kel's body to be, and let out a huge sigh of relief as the glass melted away allowing the sand to pour out. She moved quickly to Miranda's compartment and repeated the exercise.

A few minutes later, the two women were standing free.

"Good timing, Captain," Kel remarked sardonically.

"I have a feeling getting out might be more difficult than getting in," Kathryn said urgently.

Without further delay, the three officers ran for the shuttle. It was indeed more difficult, but Kathryn had brought extra phasers, and though it seemed like they had to stun half the city population, they made it out. There was a bad moment when they were pursued by hunters, with their blowpipes, but without the element of surprise, they were no match for the phasers. At last, the women made it back to the shuttle, and were grateful to get off the planet's surface.

Captains log, stardate 3379.4: The Magellan has her crew restored, and both ships are on course for the nearest Federation planet, where Captain Jane Villiers can be indicted for breach of the Prime Directive. I wish to commend Security Chief A'Tara, whose security teams not only located and rescued every member of the Magellan's enslaved crew, but also recovered the phasers and communicators taken by Captain Villiers.

"Security Chief A'Tara," Kathryn called across the bridge, "shall we resume our curtailed R&R period?"

"Absolutely, Captain," Kel responded eagerly.

"I'm surprised that you would want to engage in further such activity after recent events, Captain," Science Officer Suarez remarked seriously, her eyebrow arched.

"It's not the activity that matters, Mr Suarez," Kathryn replied with a smile, "it's the company."

She exchanged a meaningful glance with Kel and they started to leave.

"May I... join you? I am ... curious," Miranda asked with a frown, seemingly surprised by her own question.

"Fine by me. Kel?"

"The more the merrier! Can't wait to see that green body again!" Kel responded, making Kathryn laugh.

"Mr Bale, you have the con, maintain speed and course. We'll be on the holodeck - try not to interrupt us again!"

"Aye, Captain!"

The End