It was a curious thing to Cat why there were so many generals taking their leisure with them when there was supposed to be a war on, but she wasn't about to complain. Besides, her mouth was full. As she tasted the man sliding through her mouth to get down her throat, she figured ‘general’ was a term all their nobility had or they were being incredibly effective at distracting them.

Her dress cushioned her knees as she knelt on all fours for the man in the chair. It seemed silly that he had wanted her for her jet black hair and commented on her matching undergarments, but then never bothered to look at her once she had gotten started. His eyes remained closed as she worked her mouth over his shaft until the door opened.

“Sir, still no word from the advance group but--” the adjutant paused to see Cat wiggling her bum as she enjoyed herself. “...the second group is making good progress down the main road. No sign of hostiles.”

“So you interrupted me to tell me nothing has happened?!” The general growled at the man.

“No, sir. Spotters have seen enemy fleet elements coming over the mountains. The bulk of the Crater Peak fleet.”

The general laughed and filled Cat's mouth with his seed that she struggled to swallow quickly enough to avoid choking. She was suddenly worried that he was finding the news of the attack amusing. Happy to have finished her client, she was now quite eager to report to the others what was going on.

“Now that is news. Alright, let's go.” The general got up and fastened his trousers.

Cat remained on the floor and watched him leave. Only once he was gone did she put her dress back on and find her shoes. She remained barefoot, so she could quietly slink back to the gallery where the girls had been socializing with clients. Of course, being barefoot didn't help when she walked past a guarded door.

“Hey there.” One of the guards smiled at her as they both looked her up and down. “You one of those women who arrived who just get pregnant for money?”

Cat hid her internal groan at the apparent absence of awareness the men in the city had. “I am one of the women who has sex for money.” She noticed the door they were guarding was ajar and could hear voices. “But my last had to leave before he could get me completely. You two wouldn't mind would you?”

“Me or him?” He whispered in a hushed tone after looking at the door to make sure nobody was right there.

“Either, both. I can handle whatever you like. I’m also very quiet.” Cat wanted to hear what was going on in that room.

If he tasted the general on her lips as he pulled her close to kiss her, he never let on. Cat was pushed against the wall beside the door as she pulled up her dress. After getting himself free, she felt hands around her thighs lifting her up and the pressure of his manhood pressing against her before her weight forced him inside. Once her hand had moved aside her underwear, she was dropped. Having her body filled gave her the release she had been craving for almost an hour. Cat let out a hoarse breath, trying to avoid making any noises that would carry. The top of her dress was pulled down to reveal her bra; that was promptly pulled down as well. With everything bunched around her waist, she felt the thrusts into her as his mouth went to her breasts. Looking over at the other guard, she smiled, stealing a glance into the room.

“Understood, authorized to launch,” came a voice.

The opulent hall was panelled everywhere in deep red and black with fancy gold trim, and the matching carpet was lush on her bare feet. Yet despite the opulence, behind the door was a radio room. It occurred to Cat that this whole section of the city was like that, decorated like a palace, military or otherwise.

The biting of her breasts brought her back to the man inside her. She huffed in pleasure, feeling him use her weight to make each thrust more forceful.

“Yes, do it. You know you want to.” Cat had learned what she wanted about the room as she heard more launch commands.

No sooner than he had permission did he burst his seed within her. Cat held his head tightly to her breasts as he filled her body before sliding out of it. As he backed away, she saw the other approach for his turn. Smiling, despite wanting to leave, she felt him push into her as the first had. Biting at her neck with his hands on her bum, Cat couldn't help but feel too good to rush. She worked her hips as best she could in his grip and moaned softly in his ear. He didn't last nearly as long as his friend and finished quickly. Cat, about to fix her dress and leave, saw the door open wide.

“Were you guys planning on sharing?” the man in the room asked.

“Have fun!”

Cat was shoved into the room and counted a dozen men. She hoped that at some point she would at least get her own climax before she finally left. It seemed odd that the door was still left open, but couldn't worry about it as she was lifted onto a table for another go.

****

Ving had learned a few things about her new friend. The stern expression she had fixed to her face only seemed to break when she was pleasuring Ving. When Ving had tried to return the favour, although she had enjoyed Ving's professional technique, her efforts were met with resistance.

“Lay there for a moment, Mella, I want to get something for you to try.” Ving left her in the bed and dashed out for less than a minute.

When Ving returned, she showed the silver hook artefact to Mella.

“What’s that?” Mella was curious, though she was confident she could guess. “Your fingers inside me was fine but I am not sure I would want something that big.”

Ving smiled softly, knowing that having anything inside her was what had been making her uncomfortable. “Trust me.”

Her legs parted, Mella grit her teeth and closed her eyes as Ving pushed the metal hook into her. She didn't want to reject the first woman to ever give her any intimacy despite how much she hated penetration. It felt strange as it entered her and she couldn't quite picture how she was being held until her eyes opened.

“Does this penetration feel better for you?” Ving asked, holding the hard man-shaft as she knelt over it and slowly sat down upon it.

Mella couldn't speak; she felt herself moving inside a woman and wept. She couldn't see where the body she had ended and the new part began, but she could see where it disappeared inside the flesh and she could feel Ving squeezing around it.

“Can I call you sir?” Ving queried as she put Mella’s hands on her breasts before resting hers on the flat powerful chest under her.

“Yes…” Mella gasped. “I’m… a man. Having a woman. This is normal.” Mella felt on the verge of being emotionally shattered by the experience.

“It’s just the start.” Ving giggled, knowing she had to keep Mella together. “You get to do things to me you have always wanted. So, show me what kind of man you are and take me like you mean it.”

Mella was enjoying Ving rocking back and forth on his new shaft but knew what he'd really been dreaming of. He rolled her over and held her legs wide, surprised she was flexible enough to get them up to his shoulders. Taking control of the thrusts, he slammed himself into Ving like he always imagined doing. The gasps he forced from her each time mixed with his hard grunts of effort.

“Thank you, sir! It’s so big!” Ving didn't usually toss out the lines men always expected to hear, like they were somehow better than any other man she had been with, but she knew they were needed now. “Push harder! It won't fit inside me!”

Mella grinned as he grabbed the headboard and slammed into her hard like a machine until, for the first time ever, he felt a physical release and the seed flowing through himself and into Ving. He yelled in surprised panic, freezing his movements as it happened deep inside Ving. When he was done, he felt the shaft drop out of him and saw it still inside Ving on the bed.

“How did that feel?” Ving grinned -- but knew Mella had probably expected it to be permanent and might panic soon.

As she waited for him to respond, she took the silver shaft out of her and crawled over to where Mella had backed off and popped it back in. On all fours, she licked the flesh shaft that had returned to his body and grinned as it pushed deep into her throat.

“I never thought of what it would feel like… I…” He trailed off, distracted by how a throat felt around him.

Ving pulled free. “That’s every man’s first time. Trust me, you did better than most.” Her tongue ran along the full length and played with the tip. “Maybe we can find someone to make an enchantment that works all the time. This one stays hard and then falls out after climax.”

“Not something that would work out on shift.” Malla laughed as he pulled Ving by her green hair to take him deeply again.

Ving was relieved he had taken the news well. She could pleasure him as he processed the information and not have to worry about the shock the next time he climaxed. Her greedy slurps couldn't keep her drool from spilling from her mouth as the new man used her mouth like a toy; Ving was happy to experience an impossible fantasy for someone. When he burst into her mouth, she held the tip on her lips so he could watch his seed land on her tongue and face as the force of it changed with the pumps.

“You taste wonderful, sir. A woman appreciates it when she gets seeded properly.” Ving used her face to nuzzle the shaft before it turned to silver and fell out again.

“I want to do this forever.” Mella breathed heavily.

“Well, we both have work to do, but as long as I am here, you can use this on me. Any of the women here would be happy to have you. A man like you has a lot of catching up to do, and time to make up for.”

“I think I need a rest, and it sounds like there are some ships launching. I should probably take a look outside.” Mella realised his clothing was still near the bath as he looked around.

“Sounds good. You can point things out to me while you rest up.” Ving was suddenly aware she had a mission to accomplish.

*****

Grey had been busy. Between organising the construction of defences, catching up with his mother whenever she wasn't managing the Emberborn, and the sudden arrival of the fleet overhead -- he had more than enough to do. A few small ships had landed near them to offload more troops who had been kicked off their ship to reduce their weight.

“And I am operating under the orders of the Queen. This is my theatre, Captain. You answer to me.” Grey never wanted to be an officer but did enjoy having authority over them.

“She only just became the queen. We still don't have the full story of what's going on,” the captain replied.

“The full story is that before she was queen, she fought alongside me in the trenches and took on a giant mechanical spider by herself. She is a combat veteran and actually served in Crater Peak. Hannah was a leftenant, with flaming red hair.”

The captain was stunned like he had been hit in the face with a fence post. “Hannah is the Queen?!”

All the new arrivals froze in stunned silence.

“We trained together. Our entire unit back in the day has had her more times than we’ve run drills.”

“That would be her.” Grey nodded, a bit abashed to admit it.

“Well, that settles it!” The captain nodded with a grin. “If she trusts your command decisions, so will I.”

Grey was relieved to have the matter settled, if somewhat unconventionally done. He watched the fleet move over the forest; the treeline was much farther away once they had cleared much of the trees to build fortifications, which were angled to attack the main road. He counted dozens of emplacements and knew that the guns would devastate the approaching army. As always, he hoped his preparations would be made unnecessary by the big guns.

“Maybe signal the scouts to pull back. Ship guns on the move aren't known for their accuracy.” Grey spoke as he turned to his mother.

She shook her head as she chuckled at his inability to issue her orders. “Yes, sir!”

Grey listened to her make the calls as he shifted his stance awkwardly, trying to find someone in their new trenchworks in need of supervision.

*****

Harriott and Paje were kissing while their clients pushed them together with their thrusting when a commotion started filling the room. Their fun was interrupted as the men made for the forward-facing balcony in various states of undress. The girls got up and fixed their dresses before moving to join them.

Most everyone who was in their accommodations was on the balcony and treated to the sight of the mountains between them and Crater Peak. What had everyone’s attention were the airships in the distance. Both women knew the sounds of cannon fire and could make out the sounds carried on the wind. The ships were firing down onto the main road where the enemy army was approaching.

“Are those your soldiers they are firing at?” Hannah asked as she joined everyone and tried to sound worried.

“Not for long.” One of the generals commented, generating laughter from the rest.

Paje looked over the railing and couldn't find any sign of a giant cannon or other weapons that might stop the fleet. Looking up, her view was blocked by the giant smokestack of the train spewing smog into the air.

Hannah could see the other girls either trying to guess how the tables could be turned against them or acting confused for the clients to try and get more information. She was about to whisper to Harriott when guns much closer boomed above them. Her instinct was to look around but knew if she did, she would miss what would happen.

The fleet, the one that had lined up with a hundred ships to devastate the main road, were torn apart with precise volleys of shells that seemed to have come from nowhere. More shots, and more ships destroyed. In less than five minutes, every ship in the sky was gone. The troops on the road were bait, to get them lined up and destroyed by guns at an impossible range.

“Was that the whole fleet or just part of it?” Harriot asked in a hushed tone, unable to look away from the burning wreckage in the forests.

“All of it, and it was bigger than I remembered it being.” Hannah couldn't fathom how it happened but the world's largest air fleet was gone.

“Did you see that! I knew if we exposed our army to them they couldn't resist trying to wipe it out with that fleet of theirs!” a general shouted enthusiastically. “I just can't believe they sent the whole thing! I suppose they wanted a dramatic display to end things quickly.”

“I suppose they accomplished their mission then,” another general commented, earning a great deal more laughter as everyone continued to watch the smoke from the destruction rise into the sky.

*****

Ving was on the forward deck, sitting on Mella with him deep inside her when she paused, suddenly shocked at what they had just seen.

“That was over pretty quick, wasn't it. Glad we came out or we would have missed it.” Mella had her hands on Ving’s hips and kept moving her to feel himself slide inside her body.

“That should be impossible.” Ving kept looking between the distant forests and the smog above her. “The shots came from the smog! I saw the contrails as the shells were fired. Blind firing, the distance, and the accuracy… all three of those should have made it an utter mess!”

“Not impossible.” Mella smiled at Ving’s stupefaction, not picking up on her terror. “Those masts there.”

Ving looked up to where Mella was pointing and saw metal wire arrays that looked like flat ship sails of some kind laying horizontal. “Yes?”

“Those send out electronic radio pulses and pick up the signals when they bounce off of ships. Our fleet uses them to keep position within the smog. Shepherd ships, the ones you saw taking off earlier, they keep ours in position. The rest is just math from the spotters. From high in the sky we can hit anyone before they even get close. It’s why we don't need any guns on the city itself.”

“What if fighter planes get in close?” Ving thought it strange they wouldn't have any defences against, not so much her racer but the kind of craft the pirates had used.

“What are those?” Mella asked, taking his turn at being confused.

Ving twisted around with him still inside her, more out of habit than trying to keep the sex going. “Small, one or two-man craft driven by propellers and two or three wings to keep them afloat. Fast and usually sporting machineguns. Some pirates tried to shake us down with them once.”

Mella had blown his load with Ving's twist and needed a moment to collect himself. “I’ve never seen anything like that. But I wouldn't think anything that small could do any damage.”

Ving was forced to agree but knew she had to report her conversation to the others.

*****

“I don't like being stuck in here for someone to find the moment they need this thing for something,” Foxy muttered to herself. She kept an eye out the small window of the door; the heavy traffic that hadn't abated since they first arrived.

Nobody replied, all of them having muttered more or less the same at some point since getting stuck.

“Do you like feeling stupid?” Leira asked, earning looks from everyone. “Because that's how we are all going to feel in a moment.”

She wasn't wrong. The wall opposite the door they had been watching was also a door. Looking through offered a view into a deserted and dark cargo hold.

“I need new swear words.” Ela let out a heavy sigh.

Foxy winced, then moved to inspect the small opening. She couldn't hear a soul on the other side and nodded for Vile to open the door. After checking the hold again with the door out of the way, she waved everyone out. Everyone was glad to be out of the confined space.

“Find a place to hide. In case we need to double back here while exploring. Someplace other than that elevator.” Foxy was annoyed, but given how badly military infiltrations can go, she found some relief in time being the only casualty.

As they looked at the crates, stacked all over the massive iron racks that ran through the hold, they noticed a light source other than the dim bulbs from the ceiling. It didn't take long for Foxy to hear voices and wave everyone into cover.

There was another sound, this time glass shattering. The popping of bottles being broken and crushed.

Moving closer with Ela, Foxy got a better view once she saw the group directly. A bull-man carried a large crate on his shoulders as his guards threw bottles at his feet. The partial hooves were shredded and trailing blood as far back as Foxy could see. One guard sat on the crate and was taking the bottles from it to throw. Three more moved ahead of him, one holding a hostage with a knife.

“Slowing down! Take any longer and we put her on her back!” Their laughter was sickening and told Foxy what their intentions were.

The bull grunted in pain and picked up the pace. He was too terrified to be angry, so frightened by their laughter and what it meant. All he could hope for would be to last long enough for a more senior overseer to arrive and shout them back to work.

At first, he thought that the one holding the lamp had choked on his own laughter -- but the long piece of metal coming from his mouth was covered in blood. As he fell, he saw the fox woman behind him swiftly strike at the other guard next to him with a bladed rifle. Looking at his wife, he saw her fall to the floor and back away from the guard frozen in position with his knife held to a neck no longer there. He'd been turned into stone. The last guard tried to look at his own neck and the snakehead biting down on it. When the snake released him and let him fall to the floor, he watched as she slowly stabbed the blade on her rifle into his stomach in several different places. It was over in a moment.

“You can put that down now.” Foxy tried to hide her emotions but her sympathetic pain was clear.

The bull did so, suddenly shocked at the stone statue that stood in the crate holding a bottle. He looked around and saw a giant snake-bodied woman standing as tall as she could, holding onto the iron scaffolding with two arms on her one side. He fell to his knees and quickly cradled his wife in his arms, looking at the others in confused fear.

Leira had water that she had planned on using to keep her gills wet but instead she rushed over to examine the feet of the bull and used it to help clean his wounds. At first, he tried to draw his feet away but they were in too much pain not to take any help at all.

“Who are you people?” the woman asked, her bovine features easy to distinguish from the front.

“We are here to help,” Foxy replied, getting down on one knee in front of them so they could see her more clearly in the poor lighting. “My name is Foxy. What's yours?”

“Suna, and my husband Clavic.” She glanced at the guard on the floor as he started to convulse and foam from the mouth. “What did you do to him?”

Ela smiled, showing her fangs before retracting them. “Just a light bit of stabbing.”

“We are hoping to find someone of influence amongst our kind here.” Foxy knew there was unlikely to be an officially recognized leader who wasn't human.

“They took most of who they suspected as fodder for the army. Those they didn't aren't the best sort.” Suna was too concerned with her husband and his quiet grunts as Leira picked glass from his feet to go into much detail.

“We specialize in dealing with people who aren't the best sort,” Vile explained with fire in her eyes, the half-light causing her to appear truly terrifying.

“Just who are you people?!”

*****

Astra, Kilty, Tara, and Oda stared at the soldiers as Conna answered. “We’re harlots who arrived recently to entertain the nobility here in this city.”

“Then why are you in our barracks?” The soldier was doing a fair job looking intimidating while holding his towel up with one hand.

“We thought they were showers we could make use of.” Conna continued, letting her dress fall to the tile floor.

The girls could see his head make a sudden tick as he finally clued into what was going on.

“Oh,” was all he could get out.

Conna smirked as she saw the towel lift with his arousal. “But I am afraid we aren't familiar with the plumbing here. Could you show us how it works?”

He gestured through the arch that he had come through to inspect the noise they had made entering and watched the women shed their clothing. It seemed surprising that women whose trade was sex to be in such fine shape as he admired their muscle tone, but it made more sense as he thought about it.

Astra was the last of them to walk by, and as she neared, she grabbed him by what was under his towel and pulled him gently to follow. She found herself in their shower room where nine other men had been bathing. It was a simple fact that they were enemy soldiers, but after what had happened to the fleet they had to be more direct and find the nearest barracks. Having done so, it made sense to ensure they made it difficult for them to accept the girls as hostile when it came time to act. Being surrounded by the animal lust of ten muscular men trained for stamina was hardly the worst way to engage your enemy.

“Looks like we are outnumbered,” Astra commented with a smirk as she massaged the member in her hand.

*****

“I can see that!” Grey shouted over the sudden roar of gunfire.

Mull rolled his eyes. “But not for long. We caught them in the open like idiots.”

“There are more where they came from,” Grey replied grimly.

Mull had been correct; the enemy had come through the forest on foot and approached in tight groupings. Unlike the Emberborn, they had all been well equipped despite the stupid-looking steam-whistle helmets. From their elevated position, the defensive forces owned the field populated by tree stumps and enemy soldiers in front of them.

When most of the visible survivors were grouped behind the stumps for cover, he gave the signal to hold fire. Curious heads poked up to look, their helmets making an obvious mockery of subtlety.

“Did they never learn to use mirrors?” Mull asked, quite surprised at their stupidity.

“If you don't fight in trenches with snipers covering every meter of the line, you just don't pick up these things. I'm not sure these guys have ever fought in an open battle before.” Grey didn't think they looked like useless conscript fodder but they certainly fought like amateurs.

“At least they aren't quite stupid enough to try advancing again.”

“They have to move at some point, but backwards right now would be the right call. I mean, assuming they lived that long.”

Of course, they didn't. The Emberborn stalked in behind them and got to the grim work of finishing them off. So focused on what was in front of them they simply hadn't noticed the enemy behind. When they did finally notice it was too late. Some tried to fight, others to surrender, but they all died messily. The screams of the dying had covered the sounds until there simply were no more.

“Rapid recovery now!” Grey ordered and the soldiers in the forward trenches went over the top to join the Emberborn in stripping the weapons and supplies from the dead men in the field.

Other Emberborn came out of the forest carrying crates and anything else they found at the enemy camp that could be stolen. As everyone finished their work they rallied at the trenches.

“The next wave will be here soon. They might not be as stupid.” Grey watched as weapons were being distributed. “Looks like we will have as much kit as we will be getting.”

“Are they putting enemy helmets on posts?” Mull asked.

Grey looked to see that the posts used to hold the trench walls up were indeed getting decorations. “Looks like.”

With everyone he had at his disposal busy fortifying their positions in the trenches, Grey knew they were as ready as they could be. There wouldn't be any holding back next time.

****

As Astra felt the second soldier push himself inside her womanhood to share it with his comrade, she knew they weren't holding back. Feeling two men sliding against each other within her body as she was supported between the two muscular chests pressing against her forced a climax from her.

She could see Conna enjoying being held by the hip of the man within her as another helped hold her off the floor by the member in her throat and the hands gripping her breasts. It was hard to see in the steam-filled shower, but the other girls were enjoying themselves from the sound of things.

A second wave of pleasure moved through her as the man behind her started to bite at her neck in a not-so-gentle way.

*****

Mari found it surprising that she had been the least interesting member of the group. She knew her ink was off-putting to the nobility, but that usually just made them treat her more roughly -- the way she liked. Hope, on the other hand, was the most desired and Mari suggested walking her back to the ship for a rest that wouldn't be interrupted.

“Is she alright?” Ving asked as she saw Mari supporting Hope through the door.

“She’s fine, just dead on her feet tired. I can keep an eye on her if you wanted to throw on a pretty dress and head on up.” Mari noticed the company Ving had and didn't want to spoil anything by saying too much.

Ving stripped naked right there, her dress had been hanging ready at the bar for exactly such a situation. As Mari watched, Ving was fastened in by Mella.

After Mari had seen Hope into her bed, she came out to see Ving trotting off to join the others, leaving her friend on the docks.

“Not allowed to follow?” Mari asked, picking the artefact off the bar where it had been laid.

“Sadly, no.” Malla turned to see what Mari was holding.

“Have you two been using this?” Mari showed off the silver shaft.

“It makes me feel like my true self,” Mella replied.

Mari nodded at what that meant. “I hope you don't mind girls covered in ink like your ruling class seems to.”

Mella looked back at where Ving had entered the city. “I suppose someone who has sex for a living wouldn't mind me being with someone else.”

“The woman she's engaged to be married to certainly doesn't,” Mari replied, wondering how much Ving had told her.

Mella laughed. "Well, isn't that a thing.” He took the silver shaft from Mari. “Hope you like it rough because I have a lot of years to make up for.”

“Rough is what I live for.” Mari laughed as she dropped her dress to the floor and showed off her ink.

Mella stripped out of his uniform again and inserted the hook with ease and smiled.

*****

Any other women might have reacted negatively when they walked in on a man pleasuring himself to a set of faded drawn images of naked women -- but not the ones who did that day. Sitting in his chair, staring in shock at the group of women who had caught him, the goat-legged fellow froze.

Easy looked over and inspected his hand and smiled. “I can work with that.”

The sparkly fairy skipped over to the chair behind the crate serving as a desk and pushed his hands out of the way to hold him herself. As he tried to stammer out a question, Easy lifted her dress and fluttered her wings as she brought herself up to slide down with him inside her. Pulling her breasts out, she pressed them into his stammering face as she worked her hips to feel the mass within her move.

The rest of the women watched as Easy started to moan in pleasure as the man embraced her in acceptance that that was simply his life for the moment. Vile slid her own fingers within herself, shamelessly enjoying the sight while her tails pushed into Leira and Tonna. Foxy and Ela kept back to keep a watch on the door, trying to stay focused on the mission as they watched their friends have fun.

Tonna pushed the silk from her breasts using her lower arms to toy with herself; her upper ones joined her mouth, enjoying the massive breasts of the demon who had lifted Leira up with her free arm to feel the demon tongue pushing inside her.

Leira held on to Vile by her giant ivory horns that curved wickedly as she felt her breasts swell. She had to keep her head low, despite the high ceiling of the room, there simply wasn't an infinite amount. She rubbed her nipples against the ribbed horns and wished the points weren't so sharp and could put them inside. Though she had to admit that the horns couldn't move like the tongue within her did.

Easy laughed at the sudden outbreak of lust in the room and felt herself lifted up to be put on the desk. Her partner wanted more leverage and Easy certainly didn't mind the shift in control. He held her by the ankles and slammed himself into her. She noticed that despite what others were doing, he didn't take his eyes off her as he watched her breasts bounce with his thrusts into her as she sat on the crate. When he kissed her, she held him by the head to make it last as her tongue explored his mouth. She thought about Mari and what men might be doing the same to her body, filling it with themselves, using her, putting their seed deep within her and leaving her on the floor to let it leak out as they walked away. Easy climaxed hard. Her whole body shivered and soon felt it being pumped full of the seed from the man within her. Easy wrapped her legs around him; she wanted it all before she stopped it.

“So,” Easy started as she caught her breath. “We hear you are a man who can cause trouble.”

****

Blaze was helping Liddy recover from her last several clients by gently massaging with her tongue and tasting all the men who poured out from her body. Her own fingers had already brought her to climax, but she didn't stop until the door opened to admit Hannah and Ving.

Liddy waited until their kiss had run on too long before interrupting. “Yes?”

“Right.” Ving looked between Hannah and Liddy before noticing Blaze. “So the fleet got taken out by another that hides in the fog. They use radio masts and shepherd ships to keep their locations in the smog from the city and their fire control is specific enough to target like fixed guns. Nobody can fight back because they are dead before they can get close, and there's so much smog that even if they did, they couldn't see anything to shoot.”

“Well, fuck.” Hannah pushed Ving down to her knees and under her dress.

“Well, we don't have a fleet to fight them with anyways,” Liddy commented, about to question what Hannah was doing with Ving at a moment like that, but then she remembered what Blaze was doing. “At least we know they won't fire at the tunnel if they are trying to get inside it still.”

“Inky sent the girls to look for the nearest barracks in case we need to get more proactive.” Hannah leaned against the door and moaned as her betrothed tasted her.

“No noise from down below yet. They probably don't know what happened. Even if the army is defeated outside, ours can't approach with this smog fleet in the air. It’s a stalemate unless we do everything ourselves.”

“I could fuck shit up for them with my racer if I could see through the smog,” Ving offered, before her head was forcefully pushed back to work.

There was a knock at the door, low enough that Hannah felt it against her bum and knew it was Emma.

“Back to work.” Liddy groaned as Blaze helped her up and with getting dressed.

****

Grey was, by pure technicality, having a good day. Their ruse intact, their position more secure than he had expected at the start of the mission, and an utter killing field in front of them marking their success. However, the endless tide of enemies being thrown at them made it feel like anything but.

Mull was dead, along with many others. Their position was an advantage, but not immunity. The chaos of battle reigned, but between the trained soldiers and the Emberborn who appeared utterly fearless, things seemed to be holding together. At least until he heard the metal rumbling coming from the main road. Unlike the walking spider he had faced with Hannah, the constructs making the noise looked like boxes on tracks with fixed guns sticking out the front.

Their shots were terribly aimed but Grey knew that when they did hit they would be devastating to their lines. His prediction came true a moment later when one blew apart a section of their lower trenches. They didn't have anything they could use to touch the new foe as they found their range; and considered using the sceptre guard to rush them when a shadow fell over the field.

As Grey looked up he saw silk sheets catching the air as their shape cushioned the fall of wooden boxes. They had landed in front of them and he wondered just what had interrupted the battle when they burst open to reveal humanoid walking contraptions much more like the spider. They wrecked their boxes and turned to face the the Steam King's armoured boxes. Guns mounted on their arms burst with lead to strike down the infantry while others used the cannons on their shoulders to tear apart the metal-tracked boxes that had seemed like a formidable threat a moment ago. The field quickly cleared in the face of the new threat.

Grey watched as airships much like the ones that had dropped him off touch down. Emerging from them came more Emberborn, in full kit and uniform. A tall elk man walked up to Grey and saluted him.

“Harlottown sends its regards.”

Grey saw the new arrivals mingle with the Emberborn in his company, some only now truly believing that freedom was actually possible and not just a forlorn hope.

****

Foxy was glad to have Vile and Tonna around, for their sheer physical intimidation kept the angry voices at bay. Their new friend had tried his best but he clearly hadn't been top dog around the city.

“If we do anything they will kill our families out there with their army!” someone shouted.

“Even if they don't, they will just come back to find us dead!” came another.

“Oh for fucks sakes, you idiots!” Leira shouted. “Their army isn't here to kill you! We watched it march out! This place is as fucking empty as it ever will be!”

There was dead silence in the room as the thought made its way through their minds.

“If we can make enough of a fuss, close the doors and retract the ramps, we can lock their army out of their own city.” Foxy had made the plan when they first arrived and really wanted to make sure everyone understood the situation. “We can't do anything about what goes on out there. I can make promises about freedom afterwards, but it won't mean anything if we just sit here. Of course, they can kill us or them out there, but someday they are going to do that anyway. The difference now is that we can take a lot of them with us and just maybe put an end to it for good.”

“Please!” Suna pleaded from beside Foxy. “I just want to stop being afraid all the time.” She suddenly sounded very angry. “I wanna fucking break shit!”

Foxy watched as the frightened mob turned into an angry one on the verge of becoming a riot.

****

The mood for the women was tense as they continued to cater to the desires of the generals. It was hardly a challenge for most women to mask their unease with smiles, let alone professionals.

The gallery connected to the balcony where they had witnessed the destruction of the fleet was alive with jovial music as a disk spun under a needle and speaker. However, when it had once been mingled with the sounds of laughter from the generals, it was soon the only sound when they spotted what was going on outside.

New ships were spotted, hanging close over the tunnel, and dropping reinforcements. As they looked on, nobody could identify who they were.

“Sir!” A flunky charged in and handed a stack of papers to the general still deep inside Hannah, who grunted at him to summarize them. “Enemy reinforcements landed. Walking machines that have taken out our mobile box guns. Unknown uniforms, but they are entirely Emberborn. Their symbol is the letter ‘H’, sir!”

“How many?” the general demanded as Hannah felt him lose his mood and withdraw from her.

“Unknown, sir. The Emberborn army bears identification as the 69th, sir!”

Hannah started to giggle, as did the other women.

The general looked at Hannah in deranged confusion.

“Emberborn soldiers…” Hannah brought herself back into her role. “How silly!”

The general shook his head and looked back at his flunky. “What else?”

“Our fleet can't engage with them so close to the tunnel. They are all asking for more orders, sir.”

Hannah ran her fingers over the chest of her general, enticing him to ignore his duties.

He looked down at Hannah and her breasts before looking back out the window to the small group of ships flying around the mountain. Growling with frustration, he got off of Hannah and stuffed himself back into his trousers.

“Party time over! Everyone is back at their posts until the fighting is over!” As he stormed out, his comrades followed until the women were left alone.

“I guess Harlottown has arrived,” Liddy smirked.

“And he brought his best bits with him,” Inky added, looking through a spyglass she had swiped from one of the generals.

Hannah wondered how much distance she could resolve though such a tiny lens.

“The lens!!” Hannah suddenly shouted, almost in a panic.