Chapter 21

Eliza got Zen back to the Gears of War. Zen was depressed slightly, crying ever so slightly as she went. Eliza and Zen both didn’t want her crew seeing her like this, Zen guiding her through a number of emergency passages in the ship. Very few of the crew knew they were there, kept secret in case of mutiny. Zen didn’t like using them, but she couldn’t look weak to her crew.

Finally, Eliza got Zen back to her quarters. Zen punched in the door code and they stumbled in. Eliza looked around as she closed the door after them. Everything in Zen’s quarters seemed to be a mixture of feminine and masculine items, with nothing matching anything else.

“You’re actually the first woman I’ve had in my quarters in months, beautiful…” Zen sighed, pointing over at her bedroom. “In there…”

Zen’s bedroom was a mess, even by Eliza’s lack standards. There were dirty clothes across the entire floor, with a mixture of panties, bras, and thongs mixed in. Eliza groaned, setting Zen carefully down on her bed. She thought about making a remark about how her quarters were almost as big of a mess as her, but she stifled the thought. “Do you want me to see if I can find some oxy-pills for you?”

“You won’t find them here…” Zen sighed, unbuttoning her shirt slightly. She felt embarrassed and hot in front of Eliza all at once.

“God, why do you do this to yourself…” Eliza sat down next to her. She put her hand on Zen’s closest shoulder, not wanting to put an arm around her in case she had to run to the bathroom.

“Today…Today it’s because…because I can’t stop thinking about how Talia should be here to see her beautiful daughter become a woman…” Zen ran her fingers through her hair. “I’ve always dranked a lot…”

“Dranked?” Eliza bit her lip. Improper English annoyed her enough that a complaint slipped out just beyond her control.

“…a lot, but recently…on top of all the other shit I carry around…God help me, I…I mean, have you seen Tasha? She’s GORGEOUS!” Zen covered her eyes, trying to hide the tears trickling from her eyes. “God help me, she’s the daughter of the only lover that I really felt…connected to, but I just can’t help it…I’m such a slut…”

“Now, don’t go…”

“I am!” Zen snapped. “I haven’t brought them back here, but I’ve…I’ve been fucking my way through my crew and whenever we go to a planet…Because…because there’s just this hole no one can fill since Talia was murdered…” She put her hand on her forehead as she stared at the ground. “Jessie doesn’t know how much I loved her…that…that I never thought he was good enough for her, and the only reason I was so willing to handle…her ‘attacks’ when he was gone was just so…just so I could make love to her…Maybe I…I just want to be with Tasha so I can be with Talia in a way again…”

“I know how you feel, actually…” Eliza looked at the ceiling, not believing she was telling this story at all. “…When my Sarah was killed, I tried to seduce her younger sister at her funeral…because she looked so much like Sarah…”

“How did that go?”

“She…slapped me…Sarah’s family hasn’t talked to me since.” Eliza shook her head. “Her mom…who used to love me and said I was the best thing to happen to Sarah, spat in my face…”

“Well, at least she was actually a ‘girlfriend’…” Eliza whispered that Sarah was her fiancé under her breath, not wanting to interrupt Zen again. “I was just like…I might as well have been a nurse, like…giving her CPR or something when she needed it…”

“Did she love you?”

“You always say ‘I love you’ to the woman you’re fucking…” Zen shook her head. “I’d like to think she loved me, but…”

“If she was letting you have sex with her, for any reason, she loved you…” Eliza tried to comfort her, using the same logic she used for hope with Kristin. Zen looked up at her with her big beautiful eyes. Zen was thinking about saying something, but decided actions spoke louder than words. She put her arms around the back of Eliza’s neck and kissed her deeply. “What are you doing?”

“…I don’t know…” Zen kissed her again. “I need someone and so do you, so I thought…”

“Zen…” Eliza couldn’t believe she was stopping someone as gorgeous as Zen, but she was. Zen had her shirt unbuttoned all the way down to her belt. Her breasts were heaving up and down slightly with every breath. “I can’t deny I like you, and good god, you’re easily one of the most gorgeous women I’ve ever been hit on by…”

“No, no…” Zen ignored her, kissing her chin and trying to pull up her shirt up, but Eliza stopped her again. “We both have holes other people have left in our hearts…”

“I don’t want to rush things between us, but I still…” Zen took her shirt off completely, tempting Eliza further with the glowing spots that traced the edges of her chest and hips. “I still think you’re gorgeous…”

“I think you’re gorgeous, too…” Zen kissed her again. “I can almost fill the pain in your heart…”

“Zen, because I want to be with you, I don’t want to rush this…” Eliza say down next to her, putting her hand on her thigh. “I don’t want the only thing we have in common to be that we like fucking each other…” Eliza laughed. “I don’t even know how old you are…”

“…Thirty…four…ish…”

“Ish?”

“…I’m turning thirty-eight in three months, alright? I’m thirty-eight in human years, god knows how old in Rae years…”

“Whoa…” Eliza looked her over. She couldn’t believe Zen was as old as she said she was. “…Thirty-eight?”

“Yeah…” Zen smiled. “I know I probably look about thirty-two at the most, I think that’s how old I am in Rae years…How old are you?”

“…Twenty-seven.” Eliza was shy to say, since Zen was so much older than her. Zen smiled.

“That explains why you’re so gorgeous and cut…” Zen pulled Eliza’s shirt up slightly, running her hands across her stomach, “though that pregnancy is showing already…” Zen stretched arms over her head, leaving her shirt off to tempt Eliza. “What do you think of me?”

“I…uh…” Eliza had tried to not think of just how perfect Zen’s body was. She had to be in great shape, and had just the right definition to make her a goddess. Every curve on her body was highlighted by her glowing spots. Her spots even shone through the thinner parts of her red, lacy bra. Zen sat down on the bed, unbuckling her belt and unzipping her pants. “What are you doing?”

“I remembered that I told you about my tattoo…and I want to show it to you…” Zen slid her pants off completely, a move that seemed excessive to Eliza. She could have just slid them down to her knees to show the tattoo, not talk them off completely. “See?” Zen held her legs open, pointing at her tattoo.

Eliza stared at it slightly, thought she was ashamed she was. Zen’s tattoo was perfect, the dark purple shapes traced with a pale purple. The tattoos were complicated and the tracing made it obvious that they were interlinked. Zen got up and swaggered over to Eliza.

“You never did say what you thought of my body…” Zen stretched slightly. “I think it’s a shame yours got…marred like it did, but you’re so great…it doesn’t matter. You’ll always be a goddess to me…”

“I…I think you’re…” Eliza cleared her throat. She closed her eyes and turned her face away from Zen slightly. She was ashamed of her thoughts on how beautiful and gorgeous Zen was.

“Come on, you can say it…”

“…You’re…you’re a delicious Rae babe…” Eliza spoke quietly, but Zen heard and chuckled slightly at what she said. Eliza finally decided she had to tell Zen the truth. “The first time I saw you in my hospital room…I thought ‘she’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen’. I mean…your hips are strong and curvy…Your breasts and butt are firm and round, and…and then Paul took control…” Eliza looked down into Zen’s eyes. “He heard all of my thoughts about you…He wanted me to take you to him so he could have you like he had me…and…Honestly, I don’t know how, but I managed to resist him…though it made me throw you across the room…” Eliza ran her fingers through Zen’s long, flowing hair slightly. “I knew he was going to make me do to make up for not bringing you to him, but I’d rather suffer it than make you go through it. He even sliced my face every time he…violated me, which I could never let him do to the…masterpiece of your face. And if he made you pregnant too…I don’t know what I would have done…”

“Wait…he put one of those scars across your face every time he…” Eliza nodded. “So, he…when you didn’t bring me to him…” Eliza nodded again. “Which one…”

“This one…” Eliza traced the scar that went horizontally across her face and nose. “He did this really horrible thing to me, too…But I would have done anything to keep you out of his reach…” Zen got up on her tip toes, putting her hands on Eliza’s shoulders to guide her. She leaned in and kissed Eliza across her scar over and over again, across her entire face. Eliza blushed, trying not to glance down at Zen’s chest.

“It’s alright to look…” Zen smiled. “I’ve got to thank you somehow…” She lowered herself back down and kissed Eliza deeply, rolling their lips together. Eliza tried to resist what she knew Zen was trying to do. Still, she couldn’t find the strength to stop Zen from unbuckling her belt and letting her pants fall to the ground. As Zen kissed her neck and shoulders and slid her hands under her panties, Eliza didn’t know what to do.

“Zen…please stop…” Eliza heard herself say it, and the immoral side of her was already kicking her for complaining about it already. Still, she pushed Zen away slightly. “How drunk are you?”

“Not too drunk…” Zen unhooked her bra and slid it off. Eliza couldn’t resist her bare heaven shinning just in front of her. She let Zen pull her close and start caressing her again. Zen kissed her deeply again as she slowly slid off her panties.

“Oh god…”


Constance walked back into the party with Tasha. She wanted to kiss Tasha with every bit of her heart, but she knew it would only make things with Jessie incredibly tense. So, she decided she’d settle for holding her hand as they walked.

“You look much better in that jumpsuit than you did in that dress…” Constance realized what she said, stumbling slightly. She quickly tried to recover from her non-insulting mistake. “I mean, Tasha, you look so much more natural in that jumpsuit than that dress…Though you were absolutely GORGEOUS in that dress…”

“Connie…” Tasha whispered to her. “Don’t worry…I’m glad you like me better in my new jumpsuit than that dress…”

“Oh, I do.” Constance smiled, still resisting the urge to kiss Tasha and declare her love to the entire room. Her heart was singing with it, and she just didn’t know if she could contain it much longer. “Purple’s definitely your color…You’re absolutely stunning…” Tasha smiled.

“What happened to her dress…” Chase whispered in a loud voice to Yu’lena as they walked over. Tasha smiled, thinking it was adorable how Chase didn’t know how to whisper. She couldn’t help but think Yu’lena looked so good carrying Chase, like a perfect mother.

“I am sorry to interrupt, Tasha, but little Chase here would like a dance and she is very tired…”

“Alright, I’d be glad to give you a dance, little lady.” Chase cheered and practically jumped out of Yu’lena’s arms to be with Tasha. Fortunately, it was a slow song, because Chase barely had any energy left. Chase wrapped her arms around Tasha, putting her ear flat up against Tasha’s stomach. Constance could hear Chase’s cute little thoughts, trying not to eavesdrop on her. She didn’t have to worry about it too long, though, as she was quickly distracted by Jessie walking up.

“Constance,” Jessie looked down into her eyes, though she could see his eyes drifting down occasionally. She didn’t mind in the long run, knowing he didn’t mean anything by it. “I was hoping I could talk to you.”

“Alright…” Constance walked away from Yu’lena with Jessie so she could watch Chase and Tasha dance uninterrupted. “What did you want to talk to me about, Captain Jack?”

“I got talking with Tasha earlier…and…well, I wanted to apologize for the way I treated you when you first came aboard,” Jessie was ashamed of himself at staring at someone who was younger than his daughter, finally just casting his wandering gaze straight at the floor, “talking about giving you back to the police and putting you back into prostitution…”

“Oh, that’s fine, Captain…” Constance smiled slightly. “Things worked out, and you did try to buy me, so I’m not too worried about that…”

“I still feel bad about you ending up with Ariis…” Jessie looked up into Constance’s eyes. “I noticed you limping slightly…Did Ariis hurt you?”

“That’s…really rather awkward…” Constance put her hand on her stomach. She still hurt from everything Ariis had done to her over the last couple of days. She didn’t feel comfortable talking about such injuries, even with Patch, and he was just a robot. “…Ariis has liked it…really rough recently, that’s all I can say…”

“Well…do you hurt too much that you can’t dance?” Constance turned around and shook her head. In reality, she felt barely able to move. Still, she bit her lip slightly and didn’t hesitate, dancing slowly with Jessie. Jessie was surprising light on his feet, so at least Constance didn’t have to worry about him stepping on her feet and adding to her pain.


Helena and Geoff were both at the bar. Helena seemed to be drinking a little heavily to Geoff, but he wrote it off as Helena trying to celebrate Tasha’s birthday. He couldn’t begin to guess the real reason she was drinking, but she was keeping it secret. Kristin walked over with a drink in her hand, sitting at the barstool next to Helena.

“What are you all talking about that’s so important that you’re both just drinking at the bar instead of joining in the dancing?” Kristin sipped at her martini.

“Uh…Well, this is going to sound weird, but we were talking about how Ariis is…”

“Well, a lot of the crew, actually…” Geoff covered up so Helena didn’t say what he knew was coming. He didn’t want to look like some sort of pervert to Kristin, still hoping to get her to date him. She was gorgeous, after all. “They’re acting kind of creepy…Guys who usually hate each other hanging out, and not even really talking, just like…grunting and growling…”

“So, usual dumb guy shit?” Kristin stirred her martini with the olive on its toothpick. She took the olive out, biting it ever so slightly and sliding it off the toothpick.

“It’s not just that…” Helena groaned. “Ariis has been fucking everyone she can get her hands on like a bitch in heat…Regardless of gender…”

“She didn’t grab you, did she?” Geoff whispered to her, but she shook her head.

“I guess because I’m a runt…” Helena sighed and looked down into her beer. “I’m already pretty hammered, and I’m not even through my second beer yet…” She shook her head. “Sorry, I get a little…angst-y when I’m drinking.”

“Yeah, but no matter how hammered she gets, she always knows what she’s doing.” Geoff smiled and put his arm around Helena. “A guy tried to pick up Helena as an ‘easy-lay’ at her eighteenth birthday party…He started hitting on her and trying to feel her up and WHAM! She knocked him out with ONE PUNCH! And he was EASILY a foot and a half taller than her! I swear, she had to jump up to do it, but ONE PUNCH!”

“Hey…” Helena growled at Geoff, grabbing him by the collar and pulling him close. “If I knocked him out, I certainly can knock you out, can’t I? I’ve only gotten stronger since then…”

“Alright, alright…” Geoff chuckled, knowing full well Helena could probably at least mess him up if nothing else. She had a black belt in karate, though he didn’t know the specific name of the fighting style she practiced. Helena still held him close.

“Now…” she whispered so only he could hear, “…Ask Kristin to dance…I mean, if you faun over her anymore, I might throw-up…”

“Alright, seriously!” Helena finally let go of him, Geoff acting like she was still threatening him. He turned to Kristin, straightening his clothes slightly. “…Kristin, I know we got off on the wrong foot, but…I was hoping you’d let me have a slow dance with you here while Helena calms down…”

“Well,” Kristin looked Geoff over briefly. He was buff, but it was obvious to her that that wasn’t the only thing her ever worried about. She hated muscle-bound idiots that only did things between work-outs. He was rather handsome, too, but that could have been the alcohol talking. He did frustrate her when he was hitting on her within minutes of meeting her, but it was kind of funny now that she looked back at it. If nothing else, she could always end the relationship, move on, and hope he was mature enough to do the same. “…Alright, but it has to be a slow dance. These damn heals weren’t made for anything too athletic.”

“I’ll go at whatever speed you want, Kristin…” Kristin shook her head.

“Okay, two things…” Helena could barely hear them over the party as they walked on to the dance floor. “One more joke that could be followed by a frat-boy high-five, and I will have to hurt you…and two, call me Krissy.”


Helena couldn’t watch them dance, getting up and seeing if anyone else in the party was as bored and alone as she was. Finally, she saw Sally sitting at a table by herself. She walked over and sat down with her.

“Hey, Sally, what’s up?”

“Just watching little Chase there dance with Tasha…” Sally smiled. Chase was obviously fighting to stay awake while she was dancing with Tasha. She noticed that Chase seemed to be keeping her hands right on Tasha’s butt, and Tasha clearly didn’t know how to handle it. “She’s like the little sister I never had, though I think she’s kind of a perv…or is going to be…whatever…”

“Yeah…” Helena looked over at them dancing. “She definitely has her hands full of Tasha there…” She chuckled.

“I’m hoping she doesn’t realize what she’s doing to Tasha and her hands just slid down a little…” Sally looked down at the table, shaking her head. She knew what the signs meant, but was trying not to think like that about little Chase. “Look there…” Sally gestured slightly over to Hal and Kelli dancing. Helena’s jaw dropped when she saw it.

“A nerd like him…dancing with a TOTAL BABE like Kelli? Miracles do happen…” Helena finished her second beer. “Hey, this may sound weird, but do you want to dance?”

“…How drunk are you?” Sally had to ask. Helena shook her head.

“I don’t mean like a slow dance…I mean, just like…two friends dancing when a song they like’s on…” Helena put her beer mug on the table upside-down. She’d keep ordering more if she left it right side up, and she didn’t want to look like a complete idiot in front of Sally.

“Can we just stay here and talk or something?”

“Sure…” Helena looked over at Geoff and Kristin. “What do you think of that…Kristin science-babe?”

“She’s REALLY smart. I’ll give her that…Though she seems a little full of herself.”

“If I was that smart and hot…I’d be more than a little full of myself…”


Kelli looked up into Hal’s eyes while they were dancing. She smiled, seeing that he was looking down into her eyes and not staring at her breasts. Hal was more than a little shy, worried about where to put his hands. She grabbed them, putting them on her waist.

“It’s okay to touch my hips, Hal. I don’t mind…” She smiled, putting her hands up on his shoulders. “…don’t you like them?”

“There’s nothing I don’t like about you, Kelli…” Hal managed to summon up the courage to say. “Dancing with you so close like this is great.”

“I was just about to say the same thing…” Kelli put her ear against Hal’s chest. He was a little thinner than she usually liked, but she liked him enough to get past it. She didn’t have to fake a smile with him. “What are you thinking about?”

“I’m worried, to be honest…” Hal looked at the ceiling slightly. “I mean, I’m not exactly buff, and when you find out how geeky I really am…”

“Don’t worry about it…” Kelli tried to reassure him. “I mean, we weren’t really friends, but we were acquaintances. I know about most of the stuff you’re into…” She looked up into his eyes again. “Why are you so worried? Relax…”

“Sorry, it’s…” He took a breath. “I don’t know if I can tell you…”

“I’ll tell you what…” Kelli smiled. “If you tell me your secret, I’ll tell you one of mine…”

“Alright, but don’t tell anyone, okay?” Kelli nodded, assuming he’d do the same with her secret. “I’m OCD and have…what’s called high-functioning autism…I obsessed over books and read them over and over, and because of my autism, math and everything just click together…It helped out with math and science, but it makes me really awkward…”

“I don’t mind…It makes you kind of cute…” Kelli kissed him on the lips, giggling slightly when he blushed because of it. “Anyway, want to know my deep, dark secret?”

“Sure, if you want to tell it…” Kelli pulled Hal down a little bit and got up on her toes ever so slightly so she could whisper in his ear. It was the one thing she was really shy about and absolutely no one could know about.

“I…I have inverted nipples…” Kelli blushed brightly when she said it, making Hal’s blush look positively pale in comparison. “It’s kinda like inny-belly buttons. They’re inside, you can still see them, and they’ll still poke out…at the usual times, but they look kinda weird…and sorta disgusting, I guess…”

“I’m sure they’re not disgusting…” Hal tried to comfort her. “I mean, everything about you is great…er…even…perfect.”

“You only say that because you haven’t seen them…” Kelli turned her face away from him. She wasn’t even going into her days stripping and in pornography, how self-conscious and worried she was about them. She had to constantly toy and mess with them to keep them looking ‘normal’ for the videos and clients. It was the one thing she wanted to change about herself, even with her past. The worst thing was it seemed to be because of what her parents made her do to make her look ‘better’. “Do you want to see them?”

“…I want to say yes, but not sound like a pervert…” Kelli giggled and kissed him again. She held herself close to him as they danced, thinking she finally found the someone she could be happy with. Then, she started to cry again, realizing she wasn’t going to get to have her first time with Hal. She hoped it wouldn’t drive Hal away when he found out.


After her dance with Tasha, Chase finally started falling asleep, so Yu’lena took her back to their quarters. She was starting to get tired herself, so she didn’t mind. One of Tasha’s friends at the party that was recording the party for Jessie said she’d send her the footage of Tasha and Chase dancing together. She hoped Sally or Chase knew what to do with it and could show her how to play it since she had no idea how to even play it.

She opened the door to her temple and found half-a-dozen Zieke soldiers praying in it. She had no idea what to make of it, holding Chase tight and close in case she needed to run. Yu’lena had only heard rumors and stories about Ziekes before this. Mostly, she heard they were easily angered and to watch what she said, making sure to NEVER insult their strength.

“We are sorry for…intrusion, Princess…” The leader of the Zieke soldiers spoke broken English as she walked over to her. She was short, five-feet tall, maybe. She looked to be roughly the same age as Yu’lena, maybe a little older, with a few more grey hairs and wrinkles. Her eyes were a rich, leafy green, with the fire of military focus behind them. Her uniform, while obviously older, was perfectly maintained and sharply ironed. “Those of us who still have…souls are praying for their safety…”

“Priestess, not princess…” Chase roused from her sleep to say, quickly drifting back to sleep. Yu’lena sighed, making a note to teach Chase a lesson about manners tomorrow.

“What do you mean…‘still have souls’?” Yu’lena loosened her grip on Chase.

“…perhaps the child shouldn’t be in the room when I explain to you…” Yu’lena nodded, carrying Chase over to their bedrooms. She looked back and forth for a moment, wondering which would be best for Chase. She really wanted Chase to be able to sleep on her own, though there were certain teachings on her planet that said you should never sleep alone, always having someone with you. Either way, she didn’t want Chase waking up alone in a strange bed after falling asleep in her arms.

“One more night…at least…” Yu’lena kissed Chase on the forehead and put her down on the bed. She’d see if she could wake her up so she wouldn’t sleep in her fancy clothes later. Yu’lena walked back out to the main room with the Ziekes. “Now, what do you mean, ‘still have souls’, Matron?”

“Half my men have…consorted with that whore Akyllisian…” The matron coughed and rubbed her eyes. “Not always…one at a time…My men here have resisted that whore, and are praying for the strength to continue to do so…”

“I see…” Yu’lena walked over to the soldiers. “I…do not speak Zieke…do they speak Rae?”

“No, and…unfortunately, they are even less fluent in English than I am…” Yu’lena took a deep breath.

“I am afraid I do not know your name…”

“Matron Kez Jerek, ma’am. What is yours?” Matron Kez put her hands out face up in front of Yu’lena. Yu’lena remembered that you were suppose to grab the other person’s wrists with your hands face down.

“Yu’lena, we give up our sir-names when we become Priestesses…” Matron Kez shook her arms. “Uh…tell your men that they are welcome to pray here whenever they want, but to try to be quiet and not disturb my daughter…”

“You have my word we will be silent.” Kez looked around the room. “And that we will protect or avenge you of vandalism…”

“…Thank you, Matron…” Yu’lena bowed to her slightly. Kez knelt down to her to show her honor for her.

“I need to ask something…” Kez stood back up, putting her hand on Yu’lena’s elbow and walking them both over to a corner. “We…need a new religion. All of our race’s religions are being corrupted and turned…at us…” Kez pointed at herself and her men. “Pure bloods…They call us Karak because of it…We cannot go to church or get married without hordes of people demonstrating against us…”

“All of us are equals in my religion. No one has any innate superiority to anyone else due purely to genetics.” Yu’lena could tell she would already like Kez. She was proud, strong, and protective, everything she prided herself on. “You never really get truly ‘higher’ than anyone in a sense, though you can make yourself lower through evil things and you can either raise yourself back up or…or raise others up…”

Yu’lena couldn’t help but think about Hunter as she spoke. He was lowering himself into the pit of hell, and when he raped Tey’ena, she used a special incantation to make sure he was damned there. It was a dangerous prayer to say the least. If he wasn’t truly evil or redeemed himself out of hell, she could be damned in his place. She hoped Hunter had redeemed himself, but didn’t want Tey’ena to go to hell either. She knew what she had to do, though it required a great sacrifice on her part.

“It is very difficult to raise yourself back up, depending on what you did.” Yu’lena wiped a tear away from her eye, trying to hide it from Kez. “It is still a very kind religion. Soldiers are held in high regard for protecting the innocent and banishing evil.”

“Do you have a…Zieke language bible that I may read and approve for my men?” Kez asked, looking at the English and Rae copies of the bible. Yu’lena blushed slightly, feeling more improperly prepared for her role on the ship.

“I only have the two there, unfortunately…”

“Would it be against code for me to scan English one into computer for translation?” Yu’lena couldn’t get frustrated at Kez’s broken English, knowing the only reason she spoke English at all was an accidental gift from Constance. She thought Constance might be able to gift all of them with the same gift.

“I suppose not, but I do have to ask that if you are going to print it…handwrite it out instead. It is mostly for tradition…” Yu’lena realized she was oversimplifying things, but it was true. Rae didn’t have access to printers. Printing something wasn’t necessarily bad, it was just something of a grey area in her religion. “I know it is a task, but consider it as you doing me a…great favor.”

“Ah, it will be favor-back for you saving my men here.” Kez patted her on the arm and smiled. “Don’t worry. I will take the best care of your English bible and make you a fine copy in Zieke.”

“Oh, that is not…” Kez laughed again as Yu’lena tried to discourage her good deed, patting her on the arm again.

“I like you. You don’t even ask for things that are given.” Kez smiled. “I think you and I are…going to be very best friends.”

“I hope so.” Yu’lena said with her usual kindness in her voice. She really wouldn’t mind having more friends her age, knowing she was the oldest person on the ship. Kez was at least close to her age, finally someone she could talk to about the pains of getting old.


Patch was hovering around Hunter, checking on his progress. He was still in his coma, with no sign of waking up any time soon. It had Patch stumped, despite his almost endless knowledge. He was beginning to run deep, more complicated scans on him to try to solve it. As Patch hovered around him, he heard a noise and decided to go respond to it.

The crash was in a room that had patients’ personal effects. He hovered in and found Karen throwing things around. His camera immediately recognized her appearance being massively different. Her hair was back and many elegant curls in it. His sensors detected a gentle perfume of roses and a slight hint of wine to it, though he knew it was part of the perfume. She had on red nylons under her plaid skirt, and a white dress shirt that was unbuttoned to her bellybutton. Under the shirt, she was wearing a bronze breastplate that stretched down and covered her stomach. Combined with one on her back that it was belted to, it made almost an armored bra and corset combination. Literally on top of everything else, instead of her big frumpy glasses, she was wearing contacts.

“Karen,” Patch was programmed to recognize drastic appearance changes, as it could be a signal of serious problems, “is there something wrong?”

“Nothing at all, Patch.” Karen’s voice was smooth as silk and pleasant even to Patch. He didn’t have time to focus on that, recognizing Hunter’s special grenades in her hands.

“That is Mister Hunter’s property. I am going to have to ask you put those down…”

“You’re going to have to do more than ask…” Suddenly, Patch was sent flying off into the room by a powerful attack. Karen walked over to Ariis, who was smirking at her attack on Patch. She stretched up and kissed Ariis. “Here’s what you’re looking for, Master…”

“Are you sure you can modify these to do what I require?” Ariis put one hand on Karen’s stolen items, and one hand on her breastplate under her shirt.

“For you, Master? Anything…”

Eliza woke up with Zen clinging to her slightly. Zen would occasionally rub up against her and sigh almost like a cat purring. Eliza knew she wanted to be furious at Zen, but she just couldn’t muster it. Zen had seduced her even when she asked her to stop, but something about laying next to her in bed felt right. Yelling at Zen could wait until morning.

Eliza saw a lot of herself in Zen. She thought maybe that was why she was so reluctant to be with her. Zen was in just as damaged as her, if not more so. Eliza could lose herself in the job when she lost Sarah, devote every waking minute to finding the ones that killed Sarah, but Zen couldn’t. She was guessing whoever killed Zen’s loved-one was caught rather quickly. A quick, painless death for one that had caused such agony in her life left her feeling just as hollow as Eliza after the act. Now they had to both deal with the loss of someone they loved, but the fact that nothing could bring them back or at the very least make the pain go away.

It did Eliza some good to know that Zen couldn’t deal with the pain perfectly too. Eliza thought her Enhance Marine training had drained all of her emotions away, all the knowledge of how to handle it going with it. She didn’t know if she could tell Zen every horrible little thing that she went through in her life. Would a normal person know if she could tell a lover everything she went through?

More and more, the Enhance Marine parts of her seemed to clash with the real living parts of her. It stole her last month with Sarah away from her, though it was the reason she met Sarah in the first place. Once again, her feet were hanging off the end of her lover’s bed, her legs stretching well past Zen’s feet, even though Zen’s head was resting on her chest. Sarah was much smaller than Zen, and these things, these size-differences, would have never come up with her. Why did it bother her with Zen?

Maybe it was better to get the argument going. Get this out in the opening and get away from this alien feeling. It was harassing her, not letting her have a moment’s peace. That’s when it came, a small kiss on her chest from Zen in her sleep, a slight caress from her hand. Eliza was always so much warmer than Sarah’s small, cool body. Zen wasn’t quite as warm as her, but much warmer than Sarah. Her body was firm and tone instead of the ‘perfect princess’ body Sarah had. Maybe that’s why the size difference bothered her. Eliza was Sarah’s White Knight, while Zen needed no one to protect her. Eliza wasn’t sure how to handle that, but figured she might be able to accept it with a little work.


Kik’tik was sitting in the bar on the Orion. She hated leaving herself exposed like this, but Mana said she was going to meet her for drinks. It was the first possible date Kik’tik had in months, if not years, and she had to hope Mana would show up, even if it meant getting her hopes up for nothing. She felt like an idiot, sitting alone at the bar and ordering grape soda after grape soda as people just gawked at her and snapped photos. She realized it was an old, repeating truth in her life coming up again; No one wanted to get close to the bird-girl. It appeared even Mana fell into it.

“God damn it…” Kik’tik ran her fingers through her hair. Not even Zech and Sala had shown up, though she expected them to be getting to know each other better in their quarters. She was the only one alone on the ship as far as she was concerned. She signaled for the bar tender. “Get me your strongest beer, and make damn sure I don’t have an empty mug in front of me and I’ll give you a giant tip.”

“You got it…” The bartender said as he got out a frosted mug. He looked over the selection of beer before choosing the most expensive one. Kik’tik didn’t care how much it cost as long as it got her drunk. She wanted to try to forget the fact that she had been putting on a free freak show for the crew for the last few hours. The bartender filled a mug and plopped it down in front of Kik’tik. She stared at it briefly, knowing the agony it was going to cause her for the temporary relief. As she started to reach for it, a hand snatched it away at the last second.

“Jack Richards Premium Draft?” Mana whistled and took a drink from the mug. “You sure now how to treat a girl right.”

“You…” Kik’tik turned and faced Mana as she sat down on her stool. Mana took off her uniform coat and threw it around the back of her chair. She loosened her tie and unbuttoned her collar. “You actually came…”

“Sorry I wasn’t here sooner. Things didn’t go as smoothly with your two friends.” She took another drink of beer. “They wanted a room together, and the higher-ups thought they’d turn into a bomb when put together, I guess…So, I spent the last hour…” She looked at her watch. “Sorry, two hours, arguing that they’re more than likely to spend all their time fucking and not conspiring to destroy the ship from the inside.”

“That…” Kik’tik almost felt compelled to it was nice of Mana to do, but didn’t want to sound lame. “…was a problem on my ship. I finally let them have my quarters and they didn’t even change the sheets!”

“Oh god, and I hear Zieke sex gets pretty nasty…” Mana took a drink of beer. “Actually, I know it gets pretty nasty.”

“You know?” Kik’tik chuckled. “Oh, there’s a story there…”

“A Zieke guy I meet in a bar starts trying to seduce me…And he was ripped and I was drunk, so it worked, right? Not one of my prouder moments, but everyone’s telling me to loosen the hell up all the time, so I figure, why not? I get him back to my quarters, things are getting all hot and heavy…until he drops his pants…”

“So, it’s true?!” Kik’tik laughed again, leaning over to her. “They have those little…”

“Uh-huh…” Mana shook her head and took another drink of beer. “And he’s still trying to sell me on it! ‘Don’t worry, baby, you’ll DIG THE PAIN!’ Can you believe that shit? I swear I kicked him out of my room so fast that he tripped and stumbled and…well, he got stuck to the other wall like a DART…” Mana and Kik’tik both had a hearty laugh. “I’m sure…living on one of the Laumur’s worlds, you’ve got wilder stories than that…”

“Well…There was this time with this Tel-Kek…”


Tasha stayed late after the party ‘ended’ so Constance could get a chance to dance with her. Constance wanted a nice, romantic slow dance and Tasha was willing to oblige. Constance had her ear flat against Tasha’s chest, closing her eyes as they danced. She smiled as she felt Tasha’s hand glide gently through her hair.

“Connie…” Tasha whispered, knowing how tired Constance was feeling. She wanted to be sure Constance wasn’t asleep on her feet. Constance sighed, looking up at her with loving but completely exhausted eyes. “Maybe it’s time we called it quits, dear…”

“I think you’re right…” Constance groaned ever so slightly, frustrated that her body was betraying her like this. She straightened her dress and looked up into Tasha’s brilliant green eyes. Tasha’s eyes could always take her breath away. “Do you…do you mind if I kiss you one last time before I go?”

“You don’t have to ‘go’. I’m sure my dad wouldn’t mind if we granted you asylum from that lunatic Ariis…” Tasha straightened Constance’s hair for her slightly. She knew Ariis would want her to look perfect.

“No, she would come to get me…” Constance looked at the ground. “I want to keep her as far away from you as possible…I’d love to stay with you, believe me…”

“I know, Connie…” Tasha put her hands on her shoulders. “And you can, beautiful. We’ll tell my dad everything…I’m sure he won’t like it, but he’ll save you from Ariis, I know it.”

“I don’t want to tell your dad everything…” Constance looked away from her. “I wasn’t comfortable with you knowing, but showing your dad the bruises and…”

“Look.” Tasha said sharply, but still tried to sound tender and kind to Constance. “I know it’s embarrassing, but…” Constance embraced her, putting her mouth next to her ear.

“Ariis would take me from you…” Constance looked into Tasha’s eyes. “She would punish me for staying with you and you for thinking to take me…”

“I’m willing to take that chance…”

“Tasha…” Constance put her hand on the side of Tasha’s face. She stared into Tasha’s green eyes again. She felt such a deep connection with Tasha that it was almost like they shared the same soul. She didn’t know why. Constance just hoped Tasha felt it too. “…please, you’re making this harder than it has to be…”

“I just want to protect you, Connie…” Constance leaned in and kissed Tasha.

“I know, thank you…” Constance took Tasha’s hands into hers. “Do me a favor…let me walk back to Ariis alone, go back to your quarters, and try to enjoy the rest of your birthday…”

“I can’t promise that…”


Sally and Helena left the party at about the same time. Sally wanted to be sure no one took advantage of Helena while she was drunk. Still, Helena wasn’t as drunk as she started off as, burning off all the alcohol remarkably fast. She might have been a light-weight when it came to drinking, but her metabolism wouldn’t let her stay drunk long, a problem when it came to drinking to forget her problems. They saw Kristin and Geoff leave together, which worried Helena.

“You think Geoff and Kristin are…you know, right now?” Helena shook her head and rubbed her eyes. “Hell, Geoff’s probably going to tell me all about her in the morning…”

“I don’t think so…” Sally pointed to Kristin heading the opposite way down the hallway. Kristin smiled as she passed them, stopping and heading back towards them.

“Helena and Sally, right?” Kristin pointed to them to make sure she got their names right. “Can you tell me where your ship’s astrologic lab is?”

“Why do you want to go there?” Helena had to ask.

“Star gazing always helps clear my head…” Kristin up her hands on her elbows, rubbing her arms to calm herself down. “Digging up that old ‘surviving my own death’ story was a bad idea…plus with the drinking…and you never know when you find something new. You both are free to join me if you want. I’ll let you both name a star if we find anything.”

“Oh, what the hell, I was just going to go wallow in self-pity in my quarters anyway…” Helena smiled. “What about you, Sally?”

“I’m going to pass, girls.” Sally looked at her watch. “It’s late, and…I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I have to go home and study my bible…” Sally chuckled slightly. “I’m trying to decide what type of Priestess to become…”

“Oh, in that case…” Kristin bowed to her slightly, folding her hands in a prayer position. “Congratulations, Sally.”

“Thank you.” Sally bowed back. “I’ll see you both later…”

“Okay, see you later…” Helena knew she had to talk to Sally the next day. Sally could be one of her best friends, one of the few friends she’d have outside of Geoff. Plus, it had the bonus of Sally not always trying to see her breasts or anything else.

Geoff and Helena had been friends for a long time, going back to high school. Geoff had always been an annoying pervert, but she had learned to deal with it for the most part. Since they graduated high school and became pilots, they had been going from job to job together. Geoff was even her cover when they had to take a job on a ‘ship of amazons’, as Geoff put it. They spent about a year on that ship, ending up being temporary lovers on the ship, for lack of any other options. So, she put up with his antics since. She wondered if she should warn Kristin about some of his stranger quirks, deciding she’d decide later.

“Well, come on, show me the way to the lab and we can see if my probes have found anything.”

“Probes?” Helena started walking, leading the way to the lab. Kristin followed her without complaint.

“You don’t think I haven’t been using all my travels to my advantage?” Kristin chuckled slightly. “Well, don’t tell the Coalition, but I planted bugs on the ships of theirs I’ve been on so I can tap into their sensor feeds without being noticed. Same with most other ships I’ve been on, transports, mercenary ships like yours…And I’ve been dropping probes and satellites of my own as I go. So, I’ve got something like…fifty-to-seventy-five ‘eyes’ floating around both galaxies. I even have a picture of Earth, its great ring and all.”

“So that’s true? Earth has a ring?”

“…You’ve never seen it before?” Kristin smiled and put her arm around Helena as she shook her head no. “Then have I got a treat for you.”

Earth had become somewhat of a legend since the Crash. Not much was known about it, other than it being the pre-crash home of humanity. It had a ring world around it which couldn’t be explain, as most records had pictures of it before the ring and after. Most didn’t both going to Earth, as it was a prime spot for slavers and raiders. With the population kept with very primitive technology, it was the richest ground for them and made it almost impossible for the Coalition to remove them. Kristin hated it, knowing Earth was humanity’s home world. Someday, she was going to do something about it, though she didn’t know when or how.


Constance got back to Ariis’ quarters shortly after she said goodbye to Tasha. She walked up to the door and got ready to open it, hoping Ariis was still having sex with any random idiot at the time. Unfortunately, she didn’t hear the same ecstasy crazed thoughts she usually heard from Ariis’ mind. Instead, there was just silence, though she could feel Ariis’ presence. She was definitely awake and waiting for Constance. She decided not to put it off anymore, opening the door. Ariis was standing in the middle of the room, staring at the door.

“Oh, Master Ariis…” Constance did her best to hide how much her injuries really bothered her. She knew Ariis wouldn’t let her have a moment’s peace if she thought she was injured. “…Miss Tasha wondered where you were during her party, but I told her you sent me as an emissary…”

Ariis remained eerily silent, staring at Constance. Constance thought she was furious because she had sneaked off to be with Tasha at her party. She knew she was going to have to deal with it sooner or later, quickly and gingerly walking over to Ariis. She got up on her tip toes and kissed her, getting ready to make up an excuse, but Ariis didn’t let her talk, grabbing her by the neck.

“I can smell her on you…” Ariis growled, lifting her into the air. Constance gasped for breath, kicking her legs and fighting Ariis’ grip to try to get free, but it was no use. Ariis’ hand was a vice slowly closing on her throat. “You DARED to touch MY WOMAN!?”

“Muh…Master Ariis…” Constance wheezed out as tears poured down her cheeks and over Ariis’ hand. She couldn’t beg or plead with her long, the world slowly snuffing out around her as Ariis’ strangled her. Once her body went limp, Ariis threw her across the room, whistling to Karen.

“Drag her off to the dungeon and chain her up…” Ariis snarled.

“Yes, Master Ariis…” Karen didn’t question Ariis in the slightest, dragging Constance’s unconscious body off to the room she called the dungeon. She knew Ariis’ plans for Constance, hoping she would let her watch for the sick thrill of it all.

Chapter 20

Jessie hit his head against the bar. Tasha and Constance had been gone for ages already, and more and more guests were showing up. Most of them were already at the bar, and he could tell they were already wondering where Tasha was. It was a paranoid worry, they were happy to be talking to each other and figured Tasha was just waiting to make a grand entrance. Some even thought Tasha might already have celebrated by drinking herself sick at midnight when she was officially eighteen. Still, none of them thought it was rude in any serious way.


Eliza was sitting at the bar, rolling a shot glass back and forth in her hands. She had never been much of a drinker, but she sure could use a drink now. Fortunately or not, her conscience wouldn’t let her drink while she was pregnant, barely letting her drink before. She had her first bout with morning sickness when she woke up today. It wasn’t too serious, just mild nausea. Still, she knew if it was a slight problem already, it was a poor omen of things to come.

“What’ll you have, sweetheart?” A cute blond bartender asked Eliza. She looked up at her. The bartender was a bleached blond and obviously so. She had thin and tight shirt on over a bra that hiked everything out for tips. It showed her midriff slightly, an effect amplified by her tight low-rider, legless jeans.

“…I don’t know. I’m not even sure I should be here…I barely know Tasha…” She rolled the shot glass in her hands again. “I shouldn’t be drinking anyway…”

“Are you…alcoholic?” Eliza shook her head slightly. “Oh…”

“Ginger ale I guess…” Eliza groaned, embarrassed by the whole thing. She knew the bartender was just flirting with her to get a better tip. Eliza couldn’t help but think of all the men she had been with. She didn’t want just a silly fling from a girl that wouldn’t want to be with a girl for the rest of her life. No, she was looking for more than a drunken memory the girl would use later to prove how wild she use to be to her friends.

“Come on, it’s a party…” The bartender snapped her fingers. “How about a Shirley Temple?”

“Sure, whatever floats your boat…” Eliza tapped her fingers against the bar as the bartender went to get her drink. Eliza didn’t even think about staring at her when she did or checking her out in the slightest. She just wasn’t attracted to women she knew she had no real chance with.

“Hey, Beautiful!” A voice came from behind her. She turned around on her stool to see Zen swaggering up to her. Zen had a mug of beer in her hand. Eliza could tell it was her first drink, because she wasn’t stumbling or spilling as she went. “…ouch…you got a new scar since I saw you last…”

Eliza instantly recognized Zen as the woman she sacrificed herself to save. Zen was even more magnificent now that she could see her without Paul’s perverted comments clouding her mind. She could see a certain look in Zen’s eyes that told her she was serious, unlike the bartender. She couldn’t help but stare at Zen’s heavenly body slightly, but ended up at her eyes again. Those gorgeous, seductive ruby eyes stared into her very soul.

“I…uh…” Eliza wasn’t sure she should say that she took the scar because of her. That she did it to keep Paul’s disgusting hands off her. Of course, to do it, she had to risk shattering every bone in Zen’s body. Bringing it up in any way seemed far too dangerous at the moment. “…lost count.”

“I don’t blame you there…” Zen sat her beer down on the bar next to Eliza. “Who needs to follow pain that closely, right?” She put her hand out to Eliza. “My name’s Zen, short for Zenaida Conroy. What’s yours, beautiful?”

“Tech Sergeant Eliza Otto…” Eliza grit her teeth slightly. She wasn’t use to not saying her rank when she introduced herself. She felt like an idiot for doing it. “…just Eliza Otto.”

“Can I call you Liz?” Eliza was re-evaluating how drunk Zen really was. She clearly had had something to drink, but was an experienced drunk. She could see a clear but subtle blush across Zen’s face, so she had at least one beer. She knew Rae were lightweights when it came to drinking, and this just confirmed it. “I’ll take that as a no…I saw your tattoo at the hospital. I’ve got one a lot like it, but bigger…”

Eliza turned and got her drink from the bar. She didn’t know what to say to someone as beautiful as Zen, and her being drunk made things that much more complicated. She decided to let her talk and get more focused, or at least work up her own courage to say something.

“It’s a case for not getting drunk…” Zen chuckled. “It’s covers the entire inside of my right thigh, and it’s two interconnected female symbols like yours, but a lot more complicated and a lot bigger. I mean, it goes from just before the main event down to my knee. Pretty huge, right?”

“Yeah, that must have been pretty painful…”

“Eh, like I said, I was pretty hammered at the time…” Zen chuckled slightly. “Want to see it? I guess it’s kind of a lesbian tramp-stamp…”

“Maybe later, gorgeous…” Eliza smiled, thinking Zen was just drunk. What a woman as beautiful as Zen want with her was beyond her, but still, she’d humor her while she was drunk. Maybe that would earn her trust, get her closer to her. There could be a real possibility with her later, outside of a drunken fling just because they were both lesbians. “I was actually thinking about getting another tattoo…”

Eliza was distracted from her thought as Kristin passed. It was fine in the long run, because delicious Kristen distracted Zen too. Kristin didn’t have her suit coat on, wearing a more ‘relaxed’ wardrobe. She still had on her usual high heels, but was wearing fishnet stockings instead of silk. She had on a flirty miniskirt, a dress shirt that was unbuttoned down to her chest, and her usual corset. The thing that really grabbed Eliza’s attention was her purple lipstick. Kristin winked at Eliza as she swaggered by.

“She…” Zen shook her head, looking over at Eliza. “Did you…”

“Oh yeah…” Eliza chuckled. Zen leaned in close over her beer.

“Well, come on…Don’t hold anything back…What was it like?”


Kristin swaggered over to Jessie, seeing how frustrated he was. She picked up a pair of tall flutes of Champaign off bar, figuring she’d try to brighten his day. As she walked over, he could feel her staring at her already. She tried to smirk it off, figuring it was just a baser instinct kicking in. She handed him a flute, sipping out of hers.

“I’m guessing the birthday girl’s…conspicuous absence isn’t intentional, Captain Jack.”

“Yeah…” Jessie shook his head, taking a hearty swig from his flute. Kristin shook her head, and couldn’t help but think he was wasting such expensive Champaign. “She went off to her quarters with a friend a couple hours ago, and hasn’t come back yet…”

“Uh-oh…” Kristin chuckled, sipping the Champaign again. She was being careful not to smudge her lipstick. It wasn’t much of a worry, but she hated reapplying it all the time.

“What?”

“You know what they call fathers who let their eighteen-year-old daughters go off with ‘friends’ alone? GRANDPA.”

“No. Tasha wouldn’t be that stupid.” He put his empty glass upside-down on the bar. “Besides, she went with Constance…”

“Oh, well then…” Kristen chuckled again. “At least you won’t have to worry about grandkids then…”

“HEY! I know you’re new to the ship, but don’t call my daughter a slut like that or I’ll throw you out an airlock.” Jessie snapped at her, surprising Kristin. She shook her head, and just couldn’t let what he said stand. God help her, she had to voice her opinion.

“…being a lesbian automatically makes you a slut?” Jessie growled at her, and she knew she had hit a touchy subject. She knew some people were just hopeless when it came to tolerance. “How about this? I’m reasonably famous, I can entertain your guests with the story I’m famous for.”

“Knock yourself out…” Jessie shrugged and turned around. “Seriously…” He growled under his breath. Kristin shook her head, wanting to argue with him endlessly about what being a lesbian was so wrong, but she had more important things to worry about right now. She stood up on the bar, flicking her glass to get everyone’s attention.

“Hey! Hello!” She got hoots, hollers, and requests from the group around the room. “Easy, boys, this isn’t that kind of show. Anyway, since the beautiful birthday girl, the lovely Miss Tasha is absent…and since I got so many messages asking about it, I’m going to tell my story of survival and INSANE LUCK…well…to kill some time.” Kristin stepped forward and dropped down off the bar, but in a blink, Eliza caught her. “Knew I could count on you, sweetheart…”

“Your audience is waiting…” Eliza put her up on her feet, thinking she was just being cocky. She didn’t know that she was actually getting countless e-mails about it. No matter where Kristin went, she was followed by that question. She decided to tell it here rather than putting out message after message about it.

“Now, everyone remember, this story is super, ultra, mega, black-book secret…But, since the military still officially lists me as dead, I’m not too worried about it, and neither should you.” Everyone chuckled slightly. “Alright, this started back about…ten years ago, so I was a…well, far from innocent eighteen, but still…”

Kristen was eighteen at the time, her figure was really starting to come in. It took longer for augments to ‘fully develop’, so she had a few more years of ‘puberty’ to look forward to still. Still, her figure made her the envy of most women, young and old. Then, getting into her high IQ, she was one of the smartest people on the station, making even the men jealous of her. To top things off, she was the youngest person on the station that wasn’t a child brought with someone. This led to some ‘friendly’ hazing that Kristin put up with.

She was stationed at an Origin reactor satellite. It had a central unit like a perfectly round hourglass in space. The center of the hourglass had ring after ring around it. The rings all slowly turned around the center, like clockwork of the great machine it was. Some life had been restored to the reactor, so both ends of the reactor had small glowing orbs of energy perfectly centered in them. They were like faint, barely together stars trapped in their glass prisons.

Top scientists from the closest colony were called in to get the satellite up and running again. It wasn’t just a fusion reactor, though. It was an exotic and strange particle reactor, something which only the best of the best could dream of understanding. If the Terran forces could dissect the reactor and use its tech, their ships would be unstoppable. Naturally, Kristin was pulled in, being one of the smartest people there for light years.

“So, what’s the story today?” Kristin said as she floated down the hallway with one of her fellow scientists. They were both wearing one of the station’s tight radiation and space suits. She found it odd that for some reason, even though the colony was rotating, there wasn’t even artificial gravity in the station. That meant there was a device specifically cancelling out the centrifugal force from the rotation for some reason beyond them. Perhaps it was a malfunction of the artificial gravity, none could be sure. Kristin was glad it wasn’t working, as both the ceilings and floors were crystal clear windows to space. She always found it disorienting to walk on glass above space.

“The reactor’s just about ready to be fired up.” The other scientist was one of the most handsome scientists Kristin had ever seen, though he had the ridiculous name of ‘Storm’. He was tall, blond, and muscular, that was all Kristin really cared about. “What do you say to celebrate tonight, you and I go back to the Titan, get a bottle of wine, and spend the night in the hot tub?”

“That depends…” She stopped in front of him, making a flirty, seductive face. “Are you going to brag to all your friends about ‘what a great fuck’ I am again? Give them a little show from that hidden camera you’ve been sneaking up!?”

“I…uh…” Storm was flabbergasted to say the least as Kristin held up a screen playing a video of the first time they had sex. Storm, despite his high IQ, was awfully dumb when it came to explaining himself. “…Can you blame me? I mean, look at you!”

“You asshole!” Kristin punched him in the stomach. “I heard you talking to your retard friends about how I’m ‘a bitch with a shit personality’, but my…what was you said? ‘Rocking tits and ride-able ass made up for it’!”

“Krissy…” He tried to put his arms around her, but she threw them off. “Honey, listen to me…”

“Don’t give me that!” Kristin hit him again. “All that stuff you talked me into…‘I just love you and want to try some new things with you’ when it was all just for these VIDEOS! Well, I’ve got news for you…” She started rifling through the files on the device, seeing videos he had recorded just hours after he was with her. “I know about Michelle and I’ve got some news for you about her.”

“Oh yeah, what!?”

“While I’m eighteen and perfectly legal, Michelle is actually sixteen and protected by countless laws!” Storm was actually on the verge of his twenty-fifth birthday. Michelle hadn’t actually told him how old she was “…and since you were giving her alcohol and pot, we’ve got a case of statutory rape, contributing to the deliquesce of a minor, AND child pornography charges against you, since you just had to record everything…” She tapped the computer pad a couple times. “So, I’d enjoy your last few minutes of peace here, since I just sent Michelle’s videos to the military on the ships…” Kristin laughed and headed down the hallway. “By the way, the statutory and child pornography charges are sex crimes. They land you in the super-max part of the jail, just so you…NAH!”

“BITCH!” Storm yelled at her. His hands were wrapped around her throat as he slammed her against the wall. Kristin couldn’t breathe or scream, just desperately trying to pull his hands away from her throat. “I’ll fuckin’ KILL YOU for doing this to me!”

“Nuh…” Kristin swung her knee forward as hard as she could, burying it deep into his groin. His hands slammed open from the agony, letting her go. Free and gasping for breath, Kristin grabbed a tool kit that was floating by, slamming across his face. “Asshole!”

Kristin heard the massive, miles long reactor that stretched overhead and bellow them start to hum and shine with activity. She gasped and looked at her watch. They had started the reactor some ten minutes early as far as she could tell. That’s when she realized what was wrong. They had started the initiation sequence for the reactor but given it too much power to begin with. If she didn’t get to her station fast, god knows what would happen to the reactor.

She turned and tried to run to the station, but Storm grabbed her ankle and swung her, hitting her against the ceiling with a loud crack. Kristin screamed in pain. The ceiling felt like titanium instead of what they could only think was a type of Plexiglas. Storm tackled her, hitting her again and again across the face.

Kristin wasn’t even thinking about stopping him, just worrying about getting to her station. She couldn’t even begin to imagine what an overload would do to even the very fabric of time and space. The fact worried her more and more as a blinding light filled the room.

“What the hell…” Storm looked up at the hourglass as a fine shower of particles streaked down from the end above and up from the end bellow. They effortlessly streaked through the ceiling and floor, going through both Kristin and Storm. Kristin used the distraction to grab a pistol off Storm’s belt and activate it. She fired blindly into him, killing him. She knocked him off to the side and got to her feet. She struggled to run down the hallway, ignoring her injuries and hoping the radiation shower only sterilized her and didn’t kill her.

As she ran, she looked up at the hourglass. Energy was swirling around the reactor, a storm of utter chaos she couldn’t begin to comprehend. It blackened the space between the storm and the hourglass. She assumed the lower half was doing the same thing. Kristin shook her head, trying to stay conscious. She thought if she hadn’t called Storm on everything he had done, she could have prevented the accidental overload that was in progress now.

Kristin got to her station, quickly reading all the readouts. They were complicated, most of it being in English but some of it being in Rae, but she could keep up with it. She didn’t like what she saw, knowing the reactor was going into a massive overload. Of course, with dozens and dozens of geniuses on all the ships and the reactor, she wasn’t the only one who realized it. Red alert and evacuation sirens rang out through the reactor complex.

“No, no…” She shook her head. “Running’s not the answer…” She grabbed her communicator, flipping it open. She called the admiral in charge of the operation. “Admiral! I know this…LISTEN! I don’t have time to justify it, just LISTEN! If you run, your ships’ aren’t protected against the types of radiation they’ll face from this…Go into the reactor complex, sir! If anything’s going to survive…It may not EXPLODE, sir, and we’d still have the ships right…” Kristin snarled, throwing her communicator against the wall when the Admiral hung up on her. “Fuck you too…”

Kristin ran in through all the interconnecting rings, ignoring the screaming pain from all of her joints. She grunted and groaned, forcing her way through the throngs of people trying to get out. She got to the main reactor room. It was massive, taller than an apartment building. The two halves of the reactors came down to points that merged inside a sphere. It was riveted with strange devices that had glowing metal coils that shifted color across the entire surface. Countless glowing spheres were floating through the room. She had no idea what was causing them, ignoring them and just trying not to touch them as they gracefully floated through on whatever angle suited them.

“Okay, Kristin…” She whispered to herself. “Was this one of the worst decisions you’ve ever made or…the worst decision ANYONE has ever made?” Kristin’s question was answered no sooner than it had left her lips. Suddenly, the orbs shot off in a blink in all directions, one many ripping agonizingly through Kristin. One the size of a basketball plunged straight through her chest and out the other side, burning but not ripping. She gasped for breath, falling to her knees. Her world started dimming as bolts of energy shot out from the reactor like lightning.

“I woke up days later, laying on a med bed with an absolutely gorgeous male nurse tending to my every need.” Kristin sipped from her glass again, finishing it off. She set it down on the bar, gesturing for another. “The three battleships and four science ships that were stationed at the Origin Reactor were completely dead…every other single person except yours truly…and that’s when my INSANE luck started.”

“Do you have any regrets about how things went with Storm?” Someone yelled out of the crowd.

“…Only that I put up with his shit that long…I mean, he wasn’t ever able to get me to the finish line so to speak, he had the personality of a honey-badger, and his jokes would make any sane man kill themselves rather than hear another. I…” Kristin cleared her throat. “I do miss Michelle…the night before, I had convinced her he’d be the death of her…and, of course, indirectly, he was…She was a good kid, when it came down to it…” She shook her head again. “Anyway, because of an error in the military’s BRILLIANT computer systems, I’m still OFFICIALLY dead…Of course, if it wasn’t for that, I’d be bored out of my mind on a military ship instead of here with all you wonderful people!” Kristin held up her new glass of Champaign and got a cheer.


Kelli was one of the few people at the party not gathered around Kristin. She was slumped over one of the tables around the bar, her face covered by her arms. She couldn’t get the horrible image she saw out of her head, and no one believed her that she told. She could hear several of the people she told snickering at her, making her want to die.

“Hey…uh…is everything alright, Kelli?” Kelli vaguely recognized the voice, looking up to see who it was. She was surprised to see it was shy, timid Hal standing there. He was wearing formal pants and a charcoal grey dress shirt, though he didn’t have a tie on. Kelli didn’t care about that, just pushing her hair back. She sat up, revealing what she was wearing to Hal. It was a gorgeous red dress that was low-cut in the front and showed almost her entire bare back. The dress itself was slit all the way up to her hips.

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you…” Kelli sighed, looking down at the table. Hal sat down across from her and Kelli couldn’t help but look back up at him. To her surprise, he was looking at her face, not even momentarily glancing down at her chest. She didn’t mind when men did look at her chest, she was just impressed Hal was able to resist the urge.

“I don’t know about that…” Hal leaned in over the table. “I heard what you told some of the other guys…about the ship that attacked the newscast ship…”

“Oh great! So you’ve come to mock me too?” Kelli grit her teeth. “Can’t I just…”

“Hey, hey…Give me a second…” Hal pled to get a second to speak his case. “You’re radiantly beautiful, and if you keep yelling at me like that, I’m going to lock up…” Kelli took a deep breath to calm down, deciding to trust Hal enough to see what he was going to say. “I saw the same newscast…Maria Ramirez was killed…and there was that thing…that…uh…that…god, I can’t even describe it. It was just the most horrifying thing I’ve EVER seen…” Kelli still wasn’t sure if she could trust Hal, not trusting anyone right now. “They claim it was the ship’s reactor exploding due to a malfunction, but if that was true, everything would have been carried up and out…But the…the blink before the camera was destroyed…everything was flying…towards the camera, which is a blast from outside…” Hal was silent for a second, and Kelli saw the same fear she had on his face. “…and the entire colony…” he shook his head slightly, “…the…the entire planet was dead black…”

“You…you did see it…” Hal nodded, speechless. “I’m real sorry I yelled at you there…”

“It’s cool, don’t worry about it…” Hal shrugged slightly. “You’re a very emotional person…and I kind of envy that. I have the damnedest time trying to express myself. It always feels like…like if I express myself, the world will end…”

“Do you really think I’m…How did you put it? ‘Radiantly beautiful’ like you said?”

“Yeah…though that’s just normally…when you’re just in your work clothes…I mean, right now, in that dress…You’re…you’re speech-taking-ly gorgeous…” Kelli smiled brightly, blushing and leaving Hal speechless.

“See? You told me I was gorgeous,” Kelli loved that word, usually just getting ‘hot’, “…and the world hasn’t ended.”

“Well…yeah, I guess…” Kelli giggled slightly. “Alright, well, since that may have ended the world and we’re just waiting for the end…will you go out with me?”

“I think we’re already on our first date, Hal.”


Just when Jessie was about to call Tasha and yell at her for missing her own birthday party, Tasha and Constance came through the door. They were both laughing and smiling, Tasha had her arm around Constance’s shoulders. He immediately noticed Tasha’s hair was straightened instead of the usual curly or wavy look it normally had, and that he hadn’t seen Constance so happy in as long as he had known her.

“There she is!” Jessie shouted and applauded, the applause ripping through the crowd. Constance panicked slightly, looking around to make sure that Ariis wasn’t at the party. Tasha patted her on the back to comfort her. The group started to sing happy birthday to Tasha and she walked into the center of the room. She was smiling brightly, blushing and swing her hands back and forth. She waited for them to finish.

“Thank you for being so patient with me!” Tasha spoke loudly so the crowd could hear her. “I wanted to be here sooner, but my hair had different plans…” She got chuckles and laughs out of the crowd. Jessie thought her hair looked just fine this morning. “Well, I’ve been asking you all not to worry about getting me anything, but who did anyway?” She got cheers again. “Alright…” Tasha sat down on a barstool, keeping her legs together to make sure no one saw her panties. She hated being paranoid about it, but after everything that had happened to her lately, she wanted to be sure she wasn’t being peeped on. “Let’s get this over with so we can have a party! Now, who wants to be first?”

“ME!” Chase shouted and jumped up and down, shaking her box around. “Me, me, me!”

“Alright, alright, calm down…” Tasha tried to calm her as Chase ran over. Suddenly, she realized where she had seen Chase before. The flick of gold hair she saw running into the ship before Jessie took her down to the planet had to have been her sneaking over. “Chastity…I haven’t seen you in years…”

“I know! I think I was…like…six sort-of?” Chase smiled brightly as Tasha got off the stool and knelt down in front of her. “You’re a lot taller now! And prettier…”

“Thank you, sweetie…” Tasha could have sworn Chase was staring around her chest, but ignored it. Chase had to be too young for something like that. “Want to help me open the box?”

“No…” Chase giggled. “I all-ready know…wha’s in it.” Chase continued to stare at Tasha’s chest, glancing up at Tasha’s eyes. She knew she was staring, not knowing why though. Tasha quickly opened it, hating wrapping paper. She flipped the lid, gasping when she saw it.

“Oh my…” Tasha picked the teddy bear out of the box. It was brown with incredibly soft fur. “I haven’t had one of these since I was your age…”

“I know…You gave it to me…when I was little…” Chase swayed back and forth slightly. “I…I haven’ used it…in years…but I really like it and…and you use to say…you loved it…” Chase sighed. Even though she was speaking at normal speed for everyone else, she felt she was dragging. “While I was hidin’, it was jus’ sittin’ in my room…So, Momma ‘ad it cleaned an’ I’m givin’ it back.”

“You don’t have to, sweetie…” Tasha whispered to her.

“I’ll trade ya for a kiss…” Tasha smiled and gave Chase a big kiss on the cheek, making Chase giggle a lot. Tasha giggled when she noticed the big pair of lips she left on Chase’s cheek. She went to rub them off, but Chase smacked her hand. “Leave them!”

“Okay, whatever you want, dear…” She hugged her. “Thank you…”

“You’re welcome!” Chase giggled and ran back to Yu’lena. Tasha smiled and put the teddy bear on the bar. She could hear Chase’s almost incoherent ramble and bragging to Yu’lena about the kiss. She was glad she could make her so happy.

“Oh…” Constance stepped in close to Tasha, leaning in. She hated that she forgot to mention Hal’s charitable donation for the statue earlier, but she remembered in time for the gifts. “Hal paid for a lot of the statue…like…three-fourths of it.” Tasha nodded.

“Hal! You out there?” Hal raised his hand without saying anything. “Thanks for the awesome statue! So, who’s next?”

“I’ve got you one…” Zen swaggered over to Tasha with a box that had to be a computer pad. She handed it to Tasha and glanced over at Jessie. Tasha sighed a little. She could tell Zen was already pretty drunk, hoping Zen wouldn’t get drunk until the end of the party. “Open this one in private later…” She handed another smaller, thinner box to Tasha. “…and open this one now…”

“Alright…” Tasha couldn’t stand the question of what was in the box. She just hoped it wasn’t something like a sex toy. She didn’t know if she could live with that, not sure if she should throw it out or keep it, like a deep part in her wanted. She opened the small box, seeing that it was a large locket on a gold chain. She flipped it open and it had a picture of her mother and father in it, and an empty frame on the other side. “Oh my god…that’s their wedding picture…thank you…” Tasha hugged Zen just before she put on the necklace. “What can I do to thank you?”

“…Go on a date with me.” Zen spoke the words with a shrug of her shoulders. She didn’t need to be thanked for doing something nice for Tasha’s birthday, but she figured she might as well go for it.

“Hey, hey!” Jessie stepped in, taking the beer glass from Zen. “I think you’ve had enough to drink there, Captain. Don’t be corrupting my beautiful girl!”

“Heh…” Zen chuckled slightly. “You’re right…and I’m more than a little hammered…” Tasha groaned. “I had to do something while you weren’t here, love…Next time, get here sooner…”

“Alright…” Jessie groaned. “Go sleep it off…”

“Kay…will you walk me back to my quarters, Tasha?” Eliza stepped up and grabbed Zen’s arm.

“I’ll take care of you…” Eliza dragged Zen off to the side. “Come on, you’re making an ass out of yourself…” Eliza growled at her slightly.

“Yeah…I think I have a problem…” Zen whispered back as Eliza pulled her out of the bar.

“Anyways…” Kelli cleared her throat and walked forward. Tasha’s jaw dropped slightly at the gorgeous dress Kelli was wearing, making her giggle slightly. “I got something special for you, Tasha. Hopefully, you’ll like it…”

“I’m sure I will…” Tasha opened the box and was confused by what she saw. She knew they were diamond earrings, but between them, there was an identical thing she didn’t quite recognize. All three had three real and perfectly identical diamonds in a straight line. The diamond at the top was the smallest, then the middle one was the biggest, with the lowest one being somewhere between the two. “I…I like these…a lot, but my ears aren’t pierced…”

“Oh, there’s a gift card to take care of that!” Kelli showed her in the lid. “And the middle one’s a bellybutton stud. They all match!” She spoke so brightly, Tasha couldn’t help but chuckle slightly. “I’ve got one. It doesn’t hurt at all.”

Tasha use to have a joke about ‘if god wanted me to have piercings, he’d put the metal through it himself’, but that was just an excuse now that she thought about it. She didn’t want to spend money on earrings and piercings, but now, Kelli had taken care of that. She figured she’d get it done, and if she didn’t like it, she could take them out.

“Alright, but I’ll have to figure out a way to show the belly button one…without tube tops, because that’s kind of your look.” Kelli giggled again and they hugged. Tasha noticed how heavenly soft Kelli was as always. Kelli kissed her on the cheek.

“I’ll help you figure out something…”


Kik’tik was sitting alone in her holding cell. It had a one-way mirror on one wall, and Kik’tik could feel the peep show being held on the other side. She wondered if they were paying a cover charge to eyeball the freak or if it was just a come as they wanted then leave. She ran her claws through her hair, staring down at the table. She didn’t pay any attention to the door opening and Mana coming in and sitting across from her on the table. Kik’tik didn’t bother looking up at her until she slid a hooded sweatshirt to her across the table. It was black and she knew it would be extra baggy on her.

“So you don’t have to wear that Zieke’s sweaty fatigues.” Kik’tik took slipped the coat off, putting on the hoodie. She pulled her hair out from between the hoodie and her back.

“Thanks…” Kik’tik held her head between her heads. “How long is this going to take?”

“Why? Do you need anything?” Kik’tik nodded and leaned in over the table. She whispered what she needed in Mana’s ear, not wanting it to be recorded on the monitoring devices. She knew she couldn’t keep it secret too much longer. “…alright, we can get you that. But it’ll be brought here.”

“Thank you…” Kik’tik sat back down. “You have no idea how…how hard it is…”

“It’s alright. You don’t have to explain yourself to me.” Kik’tik sighed, thanking all of the Laumur gods she could think of that Mana didn’t grill her about her request. She watched as Mana typed in the order on the computer pad, hoping it went straight to a doctor and not through a chain of command. No sooner had she sent the order out than were the pills she asked for brought in with a tall glass of water. Kik’tik downed the pills and chugged the water. She knew they wouldn’t try to poison her.

“Thank you…” Kik’tik put the glass down on the table. “Why are you being so damn nice, anyway?”

“I figure there’s no need to treat you badly.” Mana looked over Kik’tik, trying to get a complete picture of what her body looked like. She understood why Kik’tik was so self-conscious about it. No one ever looked like her before. She was the first and only one of her kind. “Don’t worry, by the way, I haven’t allowed anyone in the viewing room other than myself…”

“That’s good, I…” Kik’tik saw Mana wasn’t looking at her in the slightest. Mana had turned her head sharply to the mirror.

“I know you’re there…” She growled at it. “If you don’t leave now, I’ll have you demoted within the hour…” At first, Kik’tik shook her head, thinking Mana was just putting on a lame show for her. Then she heard a door open on the other side of the wall and a number of unique footsteps leaving the room. “I apologize for the crew…They’re apparently children…”

“I’ve noticed you staring too, Commander.” Kik’tik groaned. “You’re just as obsessed.”

“I can’t deny I’ve been staring a little, but it’s not because I think you’re hideous. I think you have a…haunting beauty to you.” Kik’tik smirked slightly, thinking she’d call her bluff.

“I think you’re beautiful too…So what do you say we go out for drinks later?”

“You shouldn’t be drinking with those pills, Kik’tik…” Mana seemed to just be making an excuse to dodge the whole thing. Of course, it didn’t help that they were both women, though Kik’tik didn’t care. As long as she had someone that wouldn’t shiver every time they looked at her, she was fine with whatever gender they happened to be.

“Alright, I won’t have any booze…just so you won’t worry…” Kik’tik folded her hands under her chin, leaning over the table and peering deeply into Mana’s eyes. “So, what do you say, Commander Winslow?”

“…Answer all my questions, and sure. I won’t just have drinks with you…We’ll have a full date and everything.”

“Alright…” Kik’tik put her feet up on the table, ready for the questions. “Shoot…”


“Alright…and the last gift is from Bill…” Tasha said, shaking it slightly as a joke. Bill was just like Tasha, not usually caring if someone got him a gift for his birthday. Bill stepped forward, wanting to see how she reacted to his gift.

Tasha honestly didn’t know what to expect. Hal had gotten her a book on a computer pad, an in-depth science book called ‘Life, The Universe, and Everything’ that covered almost literally everything. It turned out Kristin had picked her up the same thing, giving her ten-thousand credits out of her own pocket to make up for it. Yu’lena had given her a giant singing crystal for her quarters that was at least a foot and a half tall, saying she made it for her, though Tasha had no idea how she could have. Helena gave her a new music player, and Geoff some albums for it. They were mostly generic rock albums, nothing Tasha really liked, an unintentional mistake on Geoff’s part. Lastly, Sally had gotten her a small gift card to a clothing shop on the ship, though Kristin’s was much larger. What Bill would get her was anyone’s guess.

“Nice job wrapping this, Bill…” Tasha joked as she grappled with the wrapping paper. “But did you have to weld it shut?”

“…You know, I thought it was a bit excessive when I was doing it…But hey, it’s your birthday.” Bill Nelson was always fast with a joke and a smile. It could be annoying at times, but he tended to know when it was a good time to stop. He was super protective of everyone under his command, and when he found out what happened to Tasha at Paul’s hand, words couldn’t describe his rage. He went out an airlock in a normal suit and raged against the void to keep his sanity. Since then, he had been as protective of Tasha as possible. He had even been letting her take breaks far more often and reassigning work to cover her.

“There we go…” Tasha laughed as the box was finally opened and unwrapped. She gasped at what was inside. It was a deep purple that Tasha loved, with black across the shoulders, in blocks at the hips, and around the cuffs of the arms and legs. It was lined with silk and had a little insulation to keep her warm. It was better than any of the jumpsuits she had already. “Whoa…”

“I was hoping you’d say something like that…” Bill said with a smile. Tasha stood up and hugged him.

“Thank you so much…This is great!” She backed away from him slightly. “Wait…where’d you get my measurements?”

“It’s nothing creepy!” Bill reassured her. “Your dad gave them to me.”

“Ah, well then…” Tasha hugged him again. “Thank you. I’m going to put this on as soon as I can…”

“Really?” Bill asked in genuine disbelief, thinking Tasha was just being too nice. Tasha nodded.

“I can’t stand dresses…” She whispered to him, tugging up the top of her dress. “I feel like I’m almost naked with just…like…a towel around me.” She gave Bill a quick peck on the cheek. “Thanks for the gift and the excuse…”

“I…uh…you’re welcome.” Bill bumbled through the sentence slightly. He watched as Tasha went over to Jessie before turning around and going back into the group of people. Tasha hugged Jessie and kissed him on the cheek.

“I’m going to duck out and change into this real quick…”

“Ah, come on!” Jessie groaned and hit his head. “You never wear dresses…and you look so pretty in them…”

“Dad, you know how I hate dresses…” Tasha groaned back as she looked the jumpsuit over. “I prefer pants.”

“You’re going to try to get married in a tux, aren’t you?” Tasha nodded and smiled. “Alright, go change, but don’t take three and a half hours like you did last time, alright?”

“You got it…” Tasha smiled again. “Constance, will you help me change?” Constance nodded and slowly walked over to Tasha, picking up the jumpsuit box. “As for everyone else…Feel free to drink and dance, let the music start and try not to have too good of time until I get back…”

Chapter 19

Kik’tik was finally back on her feet and in her bedroom after two days recovery. She couldn’t believe how badly she was hurt after the Messenger attacked her. To top things off, Zech and Sala had been using her room like their private penthouse. She didn’t mind since she told Sala to, after all. Still, she wished they’d wash her bedding. She hoped it wasn’t going to be stained now, seeing spots on it. She looked close at some of the stains, seeing they were blood stains. She threw the sheets into the cleaner, grossed out to no end. She could think of a number of places the blood could be from, wounds, scraps, and more, and didn’t want any part of that.

“It’s WRONG is what it is…” She growled, going into her wash room and washing her hands a couple times. “Bleeding all over my sheets and not cleaning them…last time I let you use my room…”

“Sorry…” Sala spoke from the doorway, actually trying to frighten Kik’tik as a joke, but she didn’t jump in the slightest. Sala used the opportunity to get a good look at Kik’tik. She was wearing a dark blue and black sports bra and khaki pants that were modified the way she told her in the shop, her tail poking out of the back. Kik’tik’s feet were bare, her talons clicking against the ground slightly as she walked.

“I told you that you had to clean up, Sala…” Kik’tik dried her hands. “I mean, this isn’t a hotel, and I’m not a maid…even if I have built-in feather dusters.”

“If they’re permanently stained, I’ll pay for them.” Sala turned around to give Kik’tik her privacy. Kik’tik had freckled all over her body. She felt bad for her, like she was horribly scarred. Zieke didn’t get freckles or any bad effects from being out in the sun for too long. “I owe you and Zech everything, after all…”

“Yeah, well, you have nothing I want.” Kik’tik walked out of the bathroom after her. She really didn’t need anything anyway. She was somewhat jealous of Sala for getting to have sex in her bed when she couldn’t. No man would look at her the way she was, and she wasn’t sure if she wanted to inflict herself on them anyway. “Unless you want to manicure my talons, brush my hair, preen my feathers, that kind of thing…”

“…Your hair does need help…” Sala ran her fingers through it, looking at the ends. “Split ends, really brittle…are you washing it with the same soap you use on your feathers?”

“…is that…bad?” Kik’tik said with a shrug. Sala rolled her eyes and pulled on about three hairs effortlessly.

“See how brittle it is?” Sala groaned, dusting the hair off her hands by clapping them together briefly. “Next colony we get to, I’ll get you some shampoo to fix that. Your hair will look like spun gold by the time I’m done.” Kik’tik lowered her head. “What? Is that like…bad to Laumur or something?”

“Why bother?” Kik’tik wasn’t the type to cry. She hadn’t shed a single tear since she was a little girl. The Laumur were always surprisingly accepting of her, even willing to cook food for her. Still, they wouldn’t let her eat chicken, though she ate it for the taboo when she was off world. “No one would look at me and suddenly go ‘Wow, her hair’s perfect! I don’t even notice her hideous BIRD parts now!’ just because…”

Before Kik’tik could finish her complaint, sirens ripped through her sentence. Kik’tik groaned, running to the bridge where she left Zech in control of the ship. She had no idea why she did it, since he had no idea how to read the complicated parts of the controls. He knew enough to get away from the colony without too much trouble, but a lot of it was her ship’s own ‘survival instincts’. It knew it had to run the fastest way it could. As both Sala and Kik’tik ran to the bridge, the ship shook violently, throwing them against the wall.


Jessie had been waiting for Tasha to get up for a while to give her the very first birthday gift she would get today. It was early for her to get up, especially on a special day like today, but he never could wait. He remembered when Tasha was a little girl, sneaking her early gifts before Talia got up. He hadn’t done it in years, though. Of course, this would have to be the last time he did it. Tasha was a young woman now, not a girl.

He grabbed one gift, one of the cheaper ones she thought she could use. It was a silk robe, after all. She could put it on before and after she took a shower. He hoped it was long enough, buying one that should go down past her knees. He never could keep track of those things, though. Once again, that was another thing that Talia would be able to keep track of effortlessly. Jessie could hear her chewing him out for not remembering it.

“Knock-knock…” Jessie said as he rapped his knuckles on Tasha’s bedroom door. He didn’t get a response, opening the door. Tasha was still asleep in bed, with a sheet pulled up to her shoulders. Jessie could see most of her legs, and knew she hadn’t had a good night’s sleep. She always kicked her legs when she couldn’t sleep, and it was amplified for her cybernetic leg. He hadn’t gotten a good look at her cybernetic leg recently. It looked very real, but still had an almost rubber look to it. He finally saw how much of an off-set there was between her real leg and her cybernetic one. That meant he was going to have the fun of bugging her to get her leg replaced again. But that didn’t matter now. “Tasha…”

“Connie…” Tasha silently groaned and shook her head when she realized it was Jessie. “Dad, what is it…” She yawned, holding the sheet to her chest. She had panties on under the covers, but that was it. She hated sleeping with bras on. “Is something wrong? It’s so early…”

“It’s not THAT early…” Jessie’s statement made Tasha groan. She turned to see the clock and saw it was only a half-hour before she normally got up. She groaned. She went to bed early and still woke up completely exhausted. She hadn’t been able to sleep at all the last couple of days, having horrible nightmares.

“It isn’t…Crap…” Tasha rubbed her eyes and groaned, hoping her nightmares weren’t true. She hadn’t seen Constance for a couple of days, since she told her she was going to the shooting range and the gym. It made her more than a little paranoid, but she wasn’t going to tell Jessie that. “Anyway…What’s up?”

“I just thought I’d sneak my little girl one last present while I still had the chance.” He put the present on the bed next to her. “Happy Birthday, Tasha…I just wanted you to know, I’m proud of you.”

“I…” Tasha looked down at the wrapped box, wondering just how she could get it open without even the slightest risk of exposing herself to Jessie. “I love you, Dad.” Tasha hugged him with her free arm.

“I love you too, Tasha.” Jessie couldn’t believe how beautiful his little girl had become over the years. He thought she could have easily slid by on her looks, becoming a cheerleader then a model, but she didn’t. She worked hard and became an engineer. “You know, if your mom was still around…She would be really proud of you…being an engineer so young…”

Tasha looked over at a picture she had of herself with her mother. Talia was always finely dressed, though she always wore men’s clothes. It wasn’t that she didn’t have the body for women’s clothing, having a good, athletic figure. She just thought it made her look more professional. Talia’s hair was just as uncontrollably curly like hers. Talia’s face had beautiful curves in it, and she had magnificent green eyes. Her skin was a dark tan, but still lighter than Tasha’s. It was always perfectly smooth and almost glistened all of the time. On top of it, Talia never needed to wear makeup, having a natural beauty she didn’t need to cover or accentuate.

Talia was almost as tall as Tasha was now in the picture, wearing a white dress shirt with a black vest and tan slacks in the picture. She was carrying a young Tasha in her arms, looking like she was kidnapping her. Tasha remembered she was spending a lot of time with Zen and that made Jessie and Talia a little jealous, so Talia ‘stole’ her back. She had one hand in Tasha’s armpit, and one under a knee to carry her. Tasha remembered how surprisingly gentle Talia was with it. Talia was smiling as brightly as she always was. She was always radiantly happy, and Tasha desperately missed that.

“…how did Mom die?” Jessie cringed, backing away slightly. “You never told me how Mom died…about her life before you and her got married…”

“I…I never wanted to bug you with that…” Jessie got up, heading out of the room since he realized Tasha was topless under the sheet. “It’s not something Talia would want you to know anyway…”

“Dad, I need to know. I’m not a little girl anymore, I can handle it!” Tasha shouted a little, watching herself so she wasn’t flat-out yelling. She hated being in the dark. Not knowing was worse than anything that could have happened in real life. Jessie stopped in the doorway and rubbed his eyes. He hit his head against the doorframe.

“Finish sleeping, get cleaned up…and I’ll tell you over breakfast, alright?” Tasha nodded, pulling the sheet all the way up to her chin. Jessie left the room and closed the door. Both him and Tasha were shaking their heads that she didn’t lock the door, and were equally glad the sheet was over her chest when Jessie came in.

Tasha got up and ran over to the door, locking it so she didn’t have to worry anymore. She walked over to her present and opened it. She gasped, picking up the perfect violet-silk robe of the box. She rubbed it between her fingers, marveling at it. She was surprised by its quality, quickly slipping it on. It was incredibly comfortable. She rolled her shoulders against it.


Kelli woke with startle from her alarm. It was louder than she remembered setting it, waking up in the middle of a sex dream. She had been having them since her night with Hunter, making her hate it even more. ‘Why did she have to have her first time with such a low-life like him?’ she wondered to herself often. Now she’d never get to have her romantic first night with the man of her dreams. It only made her worry that she was going to devolve into a drooling slut like other girls she knew. She could only hope she didn’t. It took her a minute to come back to the real world, hearing the news from the TV.

“In a repeat of our top story, the Coalition of Terran Colonies chairman has declared a state of emergency after three more human colonies have dropped out of contact…” It was a male anchor on the set, wearing a plan grey suit. Kelli wondered for a split second where the usual newswoman was, but it didn’t matter. “The colonies are Valkyrie, Odin, and Banner. If you have any friends or relatives at the colonies, we ask that you please not try to contact them as it is vital to keep all channels clear for a military search and rescue mission. The areas have been quarantined and any vessel trying to break the quarantine will be seized and sent back. We understand what a hard and trying time this will be for us all.”

“Oh god…” Kelli gasped. She prayed she didn’t know anyone on any of the colonies. Worst, she knew it was Tasha’s birthday today and hated that it had to ruin her day. It made her feel shallow, but she wanted Tasha’s day to be perfect. She didn’t have long to worry about that, though.

“The Allied Military was kind enough to allow us to station Maria Ramirez on one of their vessels that should be arriving at Janius Colony shortly. We’ll now go live to Maria on the Ulysses…Maria>?”

The signal jumped to Maria on the Ulysses. She was standing so her back was to the view screen and she was face to face with the camera. Kelli had seen her many times, but never like this. Maria’s cheery tan-skin was sickly pale. Her hair was greasy and her skin had some pimples on it that were crudely hidden with makeup. Kelli could tell she hadn’t slept in a long time.

“Thanks, Ryan…” She shook her head slightly, like just speaking was draining all of the energy from her very soul. “I’m speaking to you from the bridge of the Ulysses…” Maria yawned slightly, breaking her sentence.

“Are you alright, Maria? You look tired…”

“…it’s nothing too serious, Ryan. I've just been having an unusual bout with insomnia…” Kelli groaned. Someone had to point out how bad Maria looked, as if it wasn’t obvious enough. Maria looked like she was on her last leg. “We’re just about to make the jump to the Janius Colony to finally get to the bottom of the mysterious communications stoppage from the colony…”

On the screen behind Maria, Kelli could see the hyperspace window open up in a brilliant flash and swirl of light and color. With the window open, the view behind Maria became the black void of space, speckled with stars. The planet was silhouetted against the bright flare of the star, a massive onyx sphere against the void of space. Kelli looked closely at the picture, trying to see if the space colonies around the planet were still there. They should still have been lit up if nothing else.

But that’s when Kelli noticed something far more important. The planet was pitch black, when it should have been speckled with flecks of light from the cities across its surface. Kelli could hear the clamor on the bridge as they realized the same absence. They were desperately trying to get any contact from any of the colonies on the planet or around it.

A shiver went up Kelli’s back, an indescribable feeling of terror. Her eyes quickly scanned the entire screen, trying to explain the terror. Suddenly, she spotted it, the object of her dread. It was a black silhouette against space, blocking out the stars behind it. It was the only reason Kelli could see it. No one on the ship seemed aware of it, so Kelly thought it might have just been a ghost in the screen or broadcast. Suddenly, a flick of light appeared on the tip of the ghost. A beam ripped from it and into the ship. It struck the crew, withering, twisting, and incinerating them one by one. Maria’s high, horrible shriek ripped through Kelli’s ears. Kelli screamed, covering her eyes.

“MARIA!?” Ryan bellowed from his end, though the screen was just dead, horrifying static. Ryan cleared his throat and tried to calm himself down as the camera cut back to him. He straightened his tie. “We…we appear to be having…technical difficulties…Please, please bear with us as we try to…try to sort out what happened…” He turned to a director off screen. “Can we…can we cut…please?”


Tasha took a long shower, making it as hot as she could stand. She was still trying to burn away the filth and putrid infection Paul had cursed her with. She had to look good, pure, and happy for her party, after all. She worked on getting her hair clean and nice. It had to shine perfectly for her friends. Her skin had to be flawless. It seemed to take forever. It’d give her time to think everything through so she could talk to Jessie as maturely and thoroughly as possible.

Finally, an eon passed, and she felt she could get out of the shower. She dried herself off, wishing Talia was there to help her with her hair. Talia always made it behave and do what she wanted. All Tasha could do was either get it to lay straight down or pull it back into a big, bushy ponytail. Talia had experience with keeping wild hair under control.

Tasha picked out a dress, knowing it was what Jessie would want her to wear. She didn’t mind. It was fine satin with a silk skirt. It was all pure black and perfectly smooth, though the satin had a slight sheen to it and the silk was a dull, flat black. She laid it down on her bed, sitting down and getting a pair of pantyhose on. She slipped them on, carefully pulling them up her legs. She got them on, sighing as there was a noticeable extra piece of fabric at the end of her toes. She knew she had to get her cybernetic leg replaced soon. That meant agonizing surgery and painful days of recovery. She decided to try to ignore it for now, even though it was already hurting her back. The constant rocking back and forth was going to eventually make her back hurt so much that she’d be crippled by it, and then she’d have to get it changed.

The last thing she put on was an ankle-high pair of socks and a comfortable pair of shoes. They weren’t anything fancy, just a pair of leather sneakers. She knew Jessie was going to complain about it and ask her to put on a pair of heals. She wouldn’t, as always, but still, she knew it was coming. She opened the door and walked out into the main room.

“Whoa…” Jessie gasped slightly, walking over to Tasha. “You’re gorgeous…”

“But I don’t even have my makeup on yet…” Tasha blushed slightly. Jessie put his hands on her shoulders, looking her in the eyes. She could feel he was going to complain about her shoes, she knew it was only a couple of seconds.

“I wish your mother was here to see you…” Tasha could see tears welling up in Jessie’s eyes. It had her a little worried. “I know she’d be really proud of you…and wouldn’t believe how beautiful you’ve become.”

“About Mom…” Tasha had to ask. “I want to know more about her…” Jessie huffed. “I’m sorry, I just…”

“No, it’s just…it’s just been a while since I thought about it…” Jessie sat down on the couch, Tasha sitting down on the other end. She kept her hands on her lap, turning herself so she faced him. Jessie took a deep breath. “I want you to know, everything I’m going to say is true…and please let me finish before you say anything, or I might not be able to…”

“Alright…” Tasha readied herself, holding her breath slightly.

“I met you mother when I was in the military, that’s true…” Jessie took a deep breath. “But I didn’t save her from a raider attack…per say…”

Jessie was one of the soldiers sent over to make sure the captured raider-ship’s crew surrendered without an incident. He was much younger at the time, and much more fit. He probably weighed almost as much as he did now, but it was all muscle. He was one of the few soldiers that didn’t have a hard suit on, not worrying about it. Sure, the captain was still on the loose somewhere in the ship, but his power was broken, and his crew was on its way out.

Jessie figured the best place to find the captain was his quarters. It was worth a shot, at least. He heard metal rattling as he got closer and closer to the captain’s quarters. He got his rifle ready, loading a battery into the end of it and locking it in place. He aimed into the room and opened the door.

“Nothing so far…” He groaned to himself as he walked in. As he got near the captain’s bedroom, he could hear the metal clanging and a woman screaming. He ran into the room with his rifle aimed at anything that seemed dangerous. All he saw was a beautiful woman, trapped in what looked a massive birdcage. It was clearly a prison cell, all of it made out of cold-roll steel. The woman was only wearing a transparent silk negligee that hung off her shoulders and left her body exposed completely despite the vale. Her dark tan skin was covered in beads of sweat, and she was panting for breath. Her wild, tightly curled black hair wasn’t laying down in any way, sticking out slightly from the side of her head.

As soon as Jessie and her eyes met, they seemed to be the only other person in the world for each other. They were silhouetted against the universe, just the two of them, Adam and Eve. Jessie lowered his rifle knowing she couldn’t and wouldn’t hurt him. Her arms had padded shackles chained together. She was grasping the cage, shaking and rattling it slightly. Her entire body was quivering, and he could tell it wasn’t just because she was nervous. He knew she was a Captain’s Woman, but didn’t want to call her on it and embarrass her.

“How…how do I know you’re name’s Natalia?” She shook her head.

“I don’t know…Jessie…” She said, gasping for breath. “I…I need you to have sex with me…”

“…uh…what?” Jessie stuttered slightly, thinking he couldn’t have possibly heard what he thought he did. Talia hung her head, hitting it against the bars. She cried, her tears pattering against the cage.

“Please don’t make me beg…” She gasped for breath. “It’s going to sound weird…but…I need it…they drugged me, I will actually die if I don’t…don’t…” Talia started crying again, hitting her head against the cage again.

“…stand away from the door.” Jessie readied his rifle, wincing his eyes slightly. Talia covered her face with her arms. Jessie shot the lock, sending sparks flying into the cell. He threw the cell door, walking in. He hung his rifle off his belt as he walked over to Talia. She laid down on her bed, spreading her legs slightly. “Don’t do that…”

“Please…you don’t understand…” Jessie took his coat off and put it over her.

“We’ll get you to the doc and get whatever they put in your system out…” Talia shook her head.

“It’s not…it’s not curable…” Talia sobbed. “I’m burning up because of ‘Captain’s Private Stock’, don’t you understand?”

“I guess I don…” A bolt of plasma struck Jessie in the back. He howled slightly, stumbling forward. Talia screamed as her captain laughed.

“That’ll teach you to…” Jessie turned and aimed his rifle without taking it off his belt. With the barrel pointed at the captain’s chest, Jessie let a stream of countless bolts rip through his target. The captain fell to the ground, stone dead. Jessie stood up.

“…AIM FOR THE HEAD!” Jessie yelled at him and wrapped his knuckles on his armored vest. Bullets and plasma would be stopped by it or at least slowed down, while his head was completely unprotected. Even without the vest, it was always smarter to aim for the head. “Now that captain’s taken care of…” he picked up Talia, grunting slightly, “…let’s get you down to the med bay.”

“His son’s still around…” Talia put her head against his shoulder, panting slightly. Sweat was pouring off every inch of her body. She knew she was close to burning out completely. She had horrible memories of her captain and his son using her endlessly for their own sick pleasures.

“Just get the gun off my belt if you see him and you can kill him yourself…”

“…Mom was a Captain’s Woman?” Tasha couldn’t believe it. Jessie took a deep breath and hung his head, telling her it was true. She couldn’t believe it.

“Her parents died when she was a couple years younger than Constance is now…She went into foster care. He dad beat her, so once she found a way out, she took it. Unfortunately, it was being a Captain’s Woman…She probably didn’t mind it at first, but then they doused her with what they called ‘Captain’s Private Stock’ and…and injected her with this chemical that…” Jessie turned to Tasha, putting his hand on her shoulder. “We wanted a kid…and…and she couldn’t have kids because of these burns…if you know about Constance’s past, then you know what happened to Talia…but we were never sad about it, because we had you…”

“You mean to tell me…my mother, your wife…was forced into prostitution…and when Constance was…was going to be sold back into PROSTITUTION…You stood aside and were going to let them take her back!?”

“I’m sorry, Tasha…I really am.” Jessie took a deep breath, rubbing his eyes.

“It’s a hard world, Mister Hunter! Those were your EXACT WORDS!”

“…I’m pathetic…I didn’t want to have someone reminding me of Talia every day…”

“…hrrr…” Tasha groaned and shook her head. She couldn’t believe he’d choose to ignore the problem rather than save someone from it. Tasha couldn’t get her mind around it. Not that she wanted Constance as a personal slave, though she came to understand that would have been the only option. Ariis buying her did keep her close without owning her, but it also kept her at arm’s length. Still, if buying Constance meant she’d be saved from prostitution and Ariis, Tasha would do it.

That’s when she realized it. She was going off a 20/20 hindsight look. Sure, Jessie would probably buy Constance now to give her the chance she deserved. She’d give anything to free Constance now, but back then, she couldn’t have been sure of what she would do.

“Constance is a real sweet heart…I have to say, if I could go back, I wouldn’t have let Ariis buy her. Really…I would have…liked…kidnapped her if I had to…” Tasha rubbed her temples slightly.

“You said they gave Mom ‘Captain’s Private Stock’?” Jessie nodded. “What does that mean?”

“First, you know I loved your mom with all of my heart. She was…literally my soul mate. We knew everything about each other from DAY ONE, without having to be told…” Tasha nodded, being told stories of it since she was a little girl. They really, truly did know each other. That wasn’t a lie, though it went beyond reason. “The ‘Captain’s Private Stock’ is a super ‘captain’s woman’ drug. It permanently and radically alters your brain chemistry so you’re addicted to your brain putting out…the stuff your brain puts out from pleasure, mostly from sex…” Jessie felt awkward for not knowing the right word, and going into it in detail like this in front of Tasha. “Endorphins…I think…Anyways…without them, she would go into withdraw and eventually die…It made her need sex pretty much every other day…and when I wasn’t here, she’d basically have to cheat on me…and I didn’t mind, it was true. She had no choice…”

“Oh…” Tasha looked up at Jessie. She remembered what she thought was a dream from when she was a kid. “I…I think I walked in on Mom and…Zen…having sex one day…”

“Yeah, Zen was…was on our list…” Jessie rubbed his eyes. “List of people we could trust with…you know, sleeping with your mom in necessary situations…”

“That must’ve been hard…” Tasha choked out. Jessie was worried he just destroyed Tasha’s view of Talia, but he only solidified it. Tasha realized how much Talia had to overcome to be where she was. Tasha knew that’d be what he was worrying about. “Mom was still perfect no matter what…”

“Yeah…” Jessie smiled. “If perfect could even begin to describe her…that’s what she’d be. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.”

“It’s alright…” Tasha kissed him on the cheek. “It really is, Dad…I mean, it all worked out for the best. I wouldn’t be here without it, after all…” Jessie hugged Tasha, rubbing her back. “I love you, Dad…”

“I love you, too…Kiddo…” Jessie let go of her and cleared his throat. “Now, come on, let’s make sure everything’s set up for your birthday party…”

“Alright…” Tasha smiled, standing up. She hadn’t been able to talk about what Paul made her do and almost do with Jessie. Jessie hadn’t brought it up either, making her wonder if she should. She figured she’d think about it more or maybe talk about it with Constance. She thought it might help to just talk about it.


Kik’tik got to the bridge in a flash, taking strides longer than Sala could ever dream of taking. She saw Zech sitting at the controls, with all sorts of alerts flashing on the screens. Of course, the alerts were in English, so it did Zech no good. At first, she worried that he had put the engines through too much stress, but then she saw it.

‘It’ was a truly massive Terran battleship. It had a simple design, looking vaguely like a kite against space. It was bristling with gigantic guns across its entire hull, mirrored on the bottom of the symmetrical hull. Along the back of it were six massive engines in a straight line, roaring through space. In the center of it was a massive command island and tower that had the crew’s quarters, with thick enough armor to protect it from any threat from outside of the ship. On both of the far ends of port and starboard, it had long rectangular shapes, flight decks and hangars for the ship. Kik’tik recognized the design instantly as a ship she didn’t want to be on the wrong side of. Of course, thanks to the sirens, she knew that’s exactly where she was.

“WHAT DID YOU DO!?” She yelled at Zech, pulling him out of the command chair. She quickly checked the weapons, making sure Zech didn’t fire at them, load the torpedoes or even touch the particle cannons. “What the hell did you do!?”

“Nothing!” Zech yelled back, grabbing the back of her chair and watching the screen. “They crossed our path as we were cruising, and nearest as I can tell, LOCKED THEIR WEAPONS ON US!” The alarms on the ship would escalate depending on the level of the threat. Naturally, because of the massive arrays of cannons, the sirens were removing any trace of silence from the ship.

“Well…” Kik’tik groaned. “I assume that’s what they’re HAILING us about!” She growled. Zech should have known what the hailing alert was. It was the same for every race. Kik’tik figured Zech should have been bright enough to figure out which button to open the comm line. His lover was a comm officer, after all. She punched the button to open the line, praying they didn’t open fire in the time it took her to speak. “This is Kik’tik of the Laumur hailing Terran vessel. I regret any actions that may be deemed as hostile that were committed by my…”

“This is Lieutenant Commander Mana Winslow of the Orion.” A strong woman’s voice came over the line. Kik’tik could tell she was lowering it to sound more threatening, but wasn’t about to say anything. “Your ship was recently involved with an incident at Eureka-9 and we’d like to question you about it.”

“I’m more than willing to file a full report…”

“Kik’tik…” Lieutenant Winslow perfectly said Kik’tik’s last name in Laumur, whistle, pitch, and tone ringing perfectly through it. “We are going to need more than a formal report…Turn your ship’s controls over to landing beacon four. When the hangar’s repressurized, you and the two Zieke onboard your ship will turn yourselves over to our security forces, UNARMED and OUT OF ARMOR, for questioning. If you have any weapons or armor on your person, you will be knocked unconscious and the armor and weapons will be forcibly removed…”

“Commander Winslow, I’ll turn myself over, but I ask that you please let me…” Kik’tik was about to plead with Winslow, asking for her armor as a mere disguise if nothing else. Winslow wasn’t about to hear it though.

“You have thirty seconds to comply before we attempt to disable your ship without completely destroying it and pull what’s left in.” Kik’tik ran her claws through her hair. Her entire life since the surgery had been devoted to hiding what she was from other humans. She didn’t want to see their awkward peeks and staring again. It took her only an instant to realize she had no other choice. The Orion dwarfed her hunter-ship. A full-fledged battleship, the Orion was at least two kilometers long, making her ship the most insignificant thing for light years in all directions.

“…Roger that, Commander. I’ll be turning over control of my ship to landing beacon four and my passengers and I will turn ourselves over peacefully and without incident…Over and out.” Kik’tik plugged in the commands to the ship’s computer, turning the chair around and snapping her claws at Zech. “You, coat, now.”

“Why?”

“Because I don’t like only wearing a sports bra when I’m arrested.” Zech shrugged and took off the leather coat he had on. He had just bought it at the colony, and hoped Kik’tik’s claws or feathers didn’t mess it up somehow. He shook off the whiny little thought though. It didn’t matter either way. He handed it to Kik’tik. Kik’tik slipped it on, leading Zech and Sala down to the airlock. She took a deep breath as the hangar repressurized and the troops came over to the door. The ship automatically shutdown and opened the airlock door.

“Easy boys…” Kik’tik spoke calmly as soldiers rushed over to her, aiming their rifles straight at her neck. She knew they were horrified and disgusted by her appearance, gritting her teeth slightly.

“ON THE GROUND, FREAK!” One of the soldiers yelled at her. She shot a look at him to ask if he was serious, and he turned up the power on his rifle in response. She growled in refusal still, not wanting to her body to be against the cold steel deck.

“Platoon! STAND DOWN!” A familiar voice shouted to them. Kik’tik saw a woman she knew had to be Lieutenant Commander Mana Winslow. She had a dark blue uniform on, dark enough that most people would think it was black. She wore a knee-length skirt that was simple and plain. Kik’tik was impressed she was wearing her dress uniform and not fatigues. She could tell Mana was a professional military woman, too. Her long brown hair was back in a bun to keep it in regulation, and she had simple earrings and very little make-up on to further illustrate the point. “As far as any of you are concerned, Kik’tik is a Laumur ambassador, so holster those weapons, UNDERSTOOD?”

[“What are they saying?”] Zech said to Sala, not trying to hide that he was speaking at all. He didn’t speak any English at all, and it was putting him at a serious disadvantage now. Sala was a comm officer, so she understood perfectly well, aiming her mouth at him ever so slightly.

[“Just do your best to look friendly and not threatening…”] She whispered to him. He nodded once, standing at ease.

“I’m sorry about their reactions, Miss Kik’tik.” Winslow said calmly, bringing up a file on a small computer pad she had with her. It was no larger than a small notebook, and she was using a stylus to fly through all of the files on it to get the one she wanted. “They weren’t prepared for your appearance…”

“And you were, Lieutenant?”

“Nothing shocks me.” Winslow said with a slight smirk and cockiness in her voice. She looked back down at her computer pad, quickly going through everything on it to find the contract she need. “I think you have a sort of…eerie beauty…” She handed Kik’tik the computer pad, pointing to where she needed to sign. “You’ll need to sign this non-disclosure agreement and come with me.”

“And if I don’t?”

“Then I’ll snap my fingers, these men will detain and we’ll get the information from you and make sure you can’t tell anyone.” Kik’tik growled and signed her name in calligraphy. It was in Laumur text naturally. Winslow took it from them, hitting a button to convert the text to Zieke. [“You both will need to sign this about what happened to you on the colony and come with me to the holding cells.”] Sala snickered slightly. [“What?”]

“You speak Zieke…with English pounds.” Sala said, knowing the meaning was lost between Zieke and English. Zieke had slight vocal upturns at the end of future clauses, much like questions in English. It made the dialect harder to learn.

“…And you barely speak English at all from the sound of it.” Winslow looked up at Zech. “What about you? Speak any English at all?” Zech didn’t like Winslow at all. He had an intense loathing of the entire Terran military. Being on a ship like this was almost like being in the pit of hell. [“You’re going to be escorted to a holding cell until you’re debriefed…and maybe for some time after.”]

[“And if I refuse?”]

[“You don’t get to refuse. NOT NOW.”] Zech looked around. He was completely unarmed, and surrounded by soldiers. It was rough odds to say the least. He nodded and signed the pad after Sala. Winslow gestured for them to follow her, leading them into the ship.


Tasha and Jessie were walking into the bar where Tasha’s party was being held. They were laughing and joking as they went until they broke the doorway. As soon as they were inside, Tasha saw Constance sitting at one of the just set up tables, all by herself. She was sitting up in a chair, her head cast down slightly as she seemingly slept. She didn’t have bandages around her neck and arms anymore, seemingly completely healed.

She was wearing the same black dress she always did, but it did have different parts to it now. It looked far more regal now, with curved armor at the shoulders. The armor was golden, with an intricate pattern etched into the surface. It was plated to allow free movement. She had an armored plate across her stomach and long armored bracelets that covered her forearms almost entirely. It was clear that Ariis was trying to make her look more Akyllisian, though it was impossible due to her short height and frail build.

“Stay here…” Tasha told Jessie. She rushed over to Constance as quietly as she could, seeing a large package in her arms. Tasha gently put her hand on Constance’s shoulder and shook her gently. Constance slowly opened her eyes, smiling when she saw Tasha. Tasha put her hand on the side of her face.

“G’morning…” Constance held her gift for Tasha close to her stomach.

“Good morning, sweetheart…” Tasha whispered back to her. “Where have you been the last couple of days?”

“…serve…” Constance turned her face away from Tasha. She could feel that Tasha knew what had happened to her, at least roughly. She didn’t want to burden her with it anymore. “I’m sorry I was asleep…” she yawned and stretched slightly, “I got away this morning when Master Ariis was with a couple soldiers and…and Karen, actually…”

“KAREN!?” Tasha shouted slightly. She knew what a mess Karen was, completely repulsed by her. Karen always looked like she had just woken up from laying in a pile of her own filth. For Ariis to degrade herself by sleeping with her seemed utterly insane to Tasha and Constance. “But…but she’s so…”

“I know…” Constance laughed. “But she was really into it…really passionate…Maybe Karen and Master Ariis will get married and Master Ariis will give me up for her…” Constance knew Akyllisian women weren’t allowed courtesans when they were married. Though it only applied to women with male concubines, she hoped Ariis would let her go free if she got married.

“In that case, Karen’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen…” Tasha managed to say all the way through without laughing. Still, once she finished it, both Tasha and Constance had a slight chuckle. “What’s in the box?”

“Oh, it’s my gift to you…” Constance looked over at Jessie and the workers setting up the party. A couple of the crewmen were already showing up for the party as well. “I would prefer if we could keep it a secret from the rest of the crew…I don’t want Master Ariis finding out how I got it.”

“Alright…” Tasha turned around and stood up. “Dad, I’m going to take Constance back to our quarters for a little bit, but we should be back before the party’s started…”

“Hey, don’t worry about it.” Jessie sat down on the bar. If anyone was going to worry about it, it was going to be him since he paid for it. Still, that sounded greedy and selfish, so he kept it in his head. He leaned against the bar. “Just remember, I can only stall the guests for so long…”

“Well, you can always tell them that joke you know.” Tasha knew he got what she was saying. To call Jessie’s humor lame would have been an understatement. Still, she couldn’t make a crack about it, getting distracted by Constance standing up. Constance grabbed her stomach, buckling in pain slightly. “Oh god, what’s wrong?”’

“Nothing…it’s nothing…” Constance was embarrassed by it. How could she tell anyone how Ariis hurt her so intimately? That Ariis seemingly meant to do it, ignoring her pleas. She wouldn’t burden Tasha with that, no matter what. “Can we please get going?”

“Sure, honey…” Tasha led Constance down the hallway. Constance’s steps were awkward, like an unsure fawn stumbling forward. Tasha put her arm out to her so she could support herself as she walked. Constance put her face against Tasha’s arm. She smelled like a sweet, special perfume to match her special day. Constance loved being so close to Tasha, wishing she could kiss her. “You look really nice…with the armor bits…You know, like…like Ariis always seemed like some fantasy perv’s dream, but you…you actually look like an honest to god princess…”

“I don’t feel like a princess right now…” Constance cast her eyes down, looking at herself and crying slightly. Her entire body ached, with specific appoints of agony across it. She was glad no one could see the embarrassing bruises and burns under her clothes, crying because she was still humiliated by them. Tasha turned to her, whispering in her ear.

“You’ll always be a princess to me…”


Sally got to Yu’lena’s temple first thing in the morning. She had been thinking about what she had read in Yu’lena’s bible. She had thought about it, and realized it was the first religion she could belong to. It was all about love and caring. It wouldn’t interfere with any scientific beliefs, because that wasn’t the point of their religion. It was all about being kind and caring and helping others. Truth was, she didn’t mind the possibility of becoming a priestess one day and helping children like Yu’lena did for Chase.

Sally wore the best clothes she had and made sure they were clean and wrinkle-free. She felt bad she didn’t have formal dresses to wear. Still, she wore the best clothing she could find in her closet, a black pleated dress, a white dress shirt, a tie, a suit coat she buttoned up. She really put a lot of effort into it. She still felt like she wasn’t dressed up enough. She rang the doorbell before she opened the door.

“Yu’lena?” Sally called into the temple. She waited to hear back.

“In here, Miss Sally.” Yu’lena called from the bedroom. Sally headed in and found Yu’lena standing behind Chase as she sat on a bench. Chase was still dewy from a bath, with just a towel around her waist and between her and the chair. “I am just giving little Chase her first maiden braid.”

“Tell her my nick!” Chase shouted slightly.

“…Nickname, dear…Remember what I told you…”

“Slow down…” Chase sighed and took a deep breath. “And honor your words…”

“Very good, dear…” Yu’lena patted her on the shoulder. “Chase’s nickname is Shae’lei…It means demon girl, in an honorable sense. It is a bit of a joke because she has two different colored eyes. For some reason, my people use to believe it to be a mark of madness and evil…”

“Then it’d be something like…Honorable demoness then, in the long run…” Sally said without thinking. She did have more experience with English than Yu’lena. Yu’lena bowed slightly.

“I suppose so, yes…” Yu’lena finished the braid so it would hang down in front of Chase’s right ear. She looked up at Sally while Chase played with it and smiled. “Is something wrong, Miss Sally?”

“You can just call me Sally, Priestess…” Sally bowed back to Yu’lena, trying to remember all of the little rituals she had read in Yu’lena’s book. “I guess I just get a little nervous when topless girls are around…”

“What?” Yu’lena had to ask, confused by what Sally was saying. Chase was a little girl, after all. Fortunately, Sally was just joking. Still, Chase got it, hoping up out of her towel and to the bathroom. Sally buried her face in her palm, shaking her head. “Sorry, she is so energetic…She often acts without thinking.”

“Nothing I haven’t seen before…” Sally said with a shrug. “How’s she doing?”

“She is very happy, and she is doing me a world of good…” Yu’lena picked up the towel Chase was sitting on so she could drop herself on the bench. She took a second to catch her breath before she continued. “She is smart…May the gods bless her, she is really trying to speak properly…”

“I did notice she didn’t sound quite so…” Sally stopped, knowing Yu’lena knew what she meant.

“She has learned to tie her own…panties now.” Sally remembered reading about how Rae panties were long fabric wrapped around their hips for coverage under their clothes. She was surprised Chase had the hang of it, since she didn’t know how she’d be able to do it and still be able to slide them off to go to the bathroom. “I only had to show her a couple times.”

“I hope I can still wear human panties when I’m a maiden…” Yu’lena got what Sally was saying, smiling. Yu’lena put her hand on Sally’s shoulder.

“I am glad you have decided to join my temple. I do have a somewhat awkward question, though…” Yu’lena cleared her throat slightly, making she that Chase couldn’t hear. “Are you a virgin?”

“Actually, yes…” Sally bit her lip and blushed slightly.

“It is nothing to be ashamed of, my child. After all, I am as well.” Sally chuckled slightly, but then felt bad for laughing at a Priestess.

“I don’t know if I ‘qualify’, though…” Sally cleared her throat. “I…I wanted to, and came close to a couple times, but I always chickened out at the last second…” She bit her lip again. “Last possible second one time…and I haven’t even tried for a long time…”

“It was not worth the trouble for such…‘simple pleasures’?” Sally reluctantly nodded. “That is good, because you realize it is a baser desire that does not require to be fed.”

“What about…if I…you know…” Sally was about to say the word when Yu’lena stopped her as Chase rushed into the room. She had cloth wrapped around her, holding it up on her body.

“Momma…” Chase whined slightly. “I can’t get this ‘round me…”

“You forgot your belt, honey…” Yu’lena quickly wrapped the fabric around Chase, giving the end to Chase. “Did you see how I did that?”

“Yes, momma…” Chase sighed. “Sorry I couldn’ remember…”

“It is alright, Chase…” Yu’lena gave her a little kiss on the forehead. “You are doing very well.”

“Wait…” Chase groaned. “I cannot get this around me…and…Sorry I could not remember, right?”

“Very good, dear!” Yu’lena smiled again and gave her another kiss on the forehead. Chase giggled and hopped up and down. “You are going to be speaking better than I am.”

“Oh, I could…not do that…” Chase was speaking far slower than she was use to, but still as fast as everyone else usually talked. Yu’lena picked up a belt that was laying around on the ground, putting it around Chase’s waist and fastening the piece of fabric she gave to her so the fabric would stay together. “I really like it when you kiss me, Momma…”

“Well then…” Yu’lena gave her a kiss on the forehead, then one on the cheek, making Chase giggle again. “We should leave for Tasha’s party very soon, so go get your present for Tasha and we will go.”

“Alright!” Chases cheered, running off to their bedroom. Yu’lena smiled.

“She is really affectionate…I swear, a couple times, I felt her kiss me on the cheek and forehead in my sleep. I hope I am not babying her too much.” Yu’lena turned to Sally. “About the…‘knowing yourself’ thing, shall we say?” Sally hung her head, feeling like a complete pervert. “Really, there is nothing about making love that is too wrong…It is just…there are different branches of being a priestess. Lal’halen Priestesses are suppose to be completely abstinent from…sexual pleasures. I am of that branch. There are Mei’le’ena Priestesses, which are equal to Lal’halen Priestesses, but only have intercourse to reproduce…Fal’halen Priestesses are…victims of rape…and it gets more complicated from there…”

“How will I know what’s right for me?” Sally ran her fingers through her hair. “I mean…”

“Well, unfortunately, you probably cannot be a Lal’halen Priestess, but it…” Yu’lena thought about Hunter. She couldn’t help but think about him, especially now. Despite what she knew he did, she couldn’t help her feelings for him. She had dreams about him making tender love to her. It was almost exactly like she saw him do to Tey’ena, except caring and gentle instead of hateful and violent. She felt like a complete hypocrite, preaching about being pure and secretly enjoying the dreams she was having. She even had a dream where Hunter tied her arms like he did Tey’ena’s and enjoyed every second of it. “I have actually started considering changing what I am…I have been having…shameful dreams and thoughts for my branch…”

“What branch will you go to then?” Sally asked, hearing Chase finally running back. She had the present up over her head. She was shaking it back and forth, making Sally worry about her breaking it. She didn’t worry about it since Yu’lena wasn’t.

“That is…the eternal question…” Yu’lena knelt down. “Hopefully my little Shae’lei priestess will be a kind leader since she will definitely be above me…” Chase giggled.

“I won’ ever be as good as you, Momma…” Chase said wrong just to make her point to Yu’lena and gave her a peck on the cheek. “Will you carry my gift for me?”

“Sure, though I will not be able to carry you…”

“I’ll carry her.” Sally chimed in, kneeling down next to Chase. “What do you say, ya little demon? Can I carry you?”

“As long as…you keep me…away from boys…” Chase put her arms around Sally’s neck. Sally put her arm under her and her other arm around her. Sally giggled slightly as Chase nuzzled up to her. “WAY away from boys…”

“Boys are icky anyway…” Sally groaned out as she stood up. Chase had put on a little weight since she carried her last time, but that wasn’t a bad thing. Chase looked down at Sally’s chest, then up at her again as they walked to the party. “…what?”

“Your boobies aren’t as big as Momma’s…”

“Chastity!” Yu’lena gasped, embarrassed beyond words at what she said about her and how she insulted Sally. Sally looked back at Yu’lena as she walked. She realized Chase was right, and was a little jealous now that she realized it. She shook her head as she thought it would have been easier to get dates with a body like Yu’lena’s.

“Maybe they aren’t…” She looked straight into Chase’s eyes. “But remember, you can always WALK.”

“Kay, kay!”


Tasha and Connie got back to her quarters, talking the whole way. Constance didn’t worry about Ariis finding her with Tasha, knowing Tasha could protect her. Tasha even helped her walk when she was feeling too weak to keep going. She was strong enough to carry them both when it came down to it.

Constance carefully sat down on Tasha’s bed, bouncing on it slightly. It was much softer and bouncier than her own bed, even when Ariis didn’t have the gravity turned up. Ariis had told her it was as fine a bed as she could get, but that’s when she realized it. It was the finest bed Ariis was willing to let Constance have. Still, she couldn’t focus on that now.

“Thank you for taking me all the way back here…” Constance said to Tasha as she locked the door. “You know how paranoid I am about Master Ariis…”

“You don’t have to call her that here…” Tasha sat next to her, putting her arm around her and holding her close. “She can never find out what happens in here.”

“Ariis…wouldn’t be happy with what I did to get this for you…I don’t think you would be, either, but I know you wouldn’t be mad at me for long…” She held up the heavy box to Tasha. Tasha took it, putting it down on the bed next to her.

“I hope it’s nothing too fancy or expensive…” Tasha knew it had to be something special since it was so heavy. She took off the ribbon and carefully opened the box. “Oh my god…” Tasha gasped when she saw the statue Constance had made for her. It was perfect and elegant. She instantly recognized Devi in her flirty pose. She was dressed like a tom boy, with short hair, though still feminine enough to prevent confusion. It was crystal clear, though the details in the statue weren’t hidden by it. “How did you afford this without Ariis’ money?”

“I…I sold my soul…” Constance sighed, knowing that Tasha knew what it meant. She didn’t read Tasha’s mind to know what she thought of how she got it. Tasha looked at the statue, thinking Constance should have spent the money on herself. “I really don’t mind…Though the thing with Shinobu and Glycon was horrible…”

“I would have been fine with you just showing up at my birthday party, Connie-honey…” She put the statue next to Frida so they were both looking at each other. Their identical bases were side by side and flat up against each other, though Frida was a couple inches taller than Devi. Constance trusted that Kev scaled them right, and he did. Frida was an Enhance Marine after all, making her much taller than Devi, who was a normal human. “I feel like I owe you something for this…I mean, it’s greater than I could have ever asked for…”

“You don’t owe me anything, Tasha…” Constance closed her eyes slightly, using it to build the courage she needed to finally come clean. It didn’t help as much as she hoped, knowing that Tasha was still in the room even though she was pretending she wasn’t. “I love you, Tasha…I love you with every bit of my heart, so much that it hurts a little…” Constance hung her head slightly, her chin resting on her neck. “Even after everything that happened to me to get it for you is fine…because, honestly, the worst part was feeling like…like I was cheating on you.”

“Really?” Tasha stood in front of Constance. Constance stared up at her beautiful face and nodded like an ashamed child.

“As long as I am near you, Ariis can never truly hurt me…” Constance spoke in a hushed voice. If she misspoke or stopped now, she would absolutely die. “…everything in my life up to now, all the pain and torment, is okay, because it brought me to you. All of it was worth it…just to see your sweet smile and brilliant eyes…And no matter what pain and humiliation Ariis puts me through, I’ll be fine as long as I’ve got you to help me through my pain…”

“I didn’t know you felt so…strongly…” Tasha was blushing, Constance could tell. Depending on what she said next would determine if Constance would live or die. “In that case, I have to give you something, and I mean absolutely ANYTHING, you want from me for this awesome gift…”

“Well…” Constance choked slightly. “If I c…could have a single kiss from you, I would be absolutely invincible from anything Ariis could throw at me…”

“Well then…” Tasha leaned in, peering into Constance’s gorgeous silver eyes. Constance was blushing brightly, feeling like she’d pass-out from the heat burning across her face. Tasha smiled, leaning in and kissing Constance on the lips. Constance couldn’t believe she was actually kissing her, putting her arms around the back of Tasha’s neck. Tasha put her hands gently on Constance’s sides, holding the kiss for as long as Constance wanted.

Constance finally ended the kiss, trembling for breath. She was blushing brightly. She felt like her breath was steam pouring out of her nose and mouth. She was sure she loved Tasha with every bit of her being. Every atom in her body sang ‘Tasha’ in perfect harmony.

“I love you…”