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DREAM WARRIORS
By
Angelique Anjou
© copyright by Angelique Anjou, July 2004
cover art by Jenny Dixon
ISBN 1-58608-491-7
New Concepts Publishing
Lake Park, GA 31636
www.newconceptspublishing.com
Chapter One
"Mayday! Mayday! Mayday! This is the pilot of the private cruiser Laurel-Lynn M4J679. I've just passed through a micro meteor shower in quadrant LBT13009 in the Horseshoe Nebula and have experienced structural damage."
Laurel Conyers switched off the microphone while she waited to see if anyone would pick up the signal. Seeing that she'd dropped within viewing distance of the planet below her, she activated the craft's stealth mode. There was no sense in scaring the shit out of the natives.
Her radio squawked as it picked up a counter transmission. She turned it on again and started panting and gasping.
"Mayday! Mayday! This is the pilot…." She repeated the previous message.
"Laurel-Lynn M4J679--this is Station O2412 on the outer rim. What's your status?"
Laurel frowned, dropping a little lower as she saw a land mass appear in her viewing port. "Station O2412--This is Laurel-Lynn M4J679. I'm hemorrhaging air. The rudder is sluggish. Some computer malfunction. I'm going to have to set it down for repairs. Copy?"
"Laurel-Lynn M4J679, this is Station O2412. You are in restricted space. I repeat, you are in restricted space. Can you make it to the next system?"
"Negative. I'm going to have to find something closer--really close," Laurel said, panting into the microphone for a little added drama before she turned it off and leaned forward in her seat. A smile curled her lips. There was a village just below her. Pulling the cruiser in a wide turn, she headed back for another look, dropping a little lower.
"Private cruiser Laurel-Lynn M4J679, this is Station O2412. You are not authorized to land in that sector. I repeat, you are not authorized to land in that sector."
Laurel activated her microphone again. "Just what part of 'I'm fucking crashing' do you not understand, Station O2412?"
As she did her second fly by, she saw that it was a good sized city. In the center was a large building she decided was probably a temple--primitives were always big on worshipping gods. There were two smaller buildings on either side of the 'temple' which she figured must be gathering places of some sort, since they looked to be too big to be a single family dwelling. Unless they were something like apartments? The streets were laid out in a perfect grid, forming squares. Dwellings nestled shoulder to shoulder around the squares.
It looked perfect to her--not too big, but big enough to have a reasonably good sized population, she decided. She began looking for a clearing where she could land her craft.
"Laurel-Lynn M4J679 this is Station O2412, the only planet in that system with breathable air is the fourth planet from the star, NY3410--primitive society, believed to be hostile, protected species. Can you make repairs in space?"
"Negative, Station O2412. Guess I'm just going to have to take my chances with the barbarians. It shouldn't take me more than a couple of weeks, tops. I'll check back when I've had time to look everything over. Laurel-Lynn M4J679 out."
Really! All the panting and gasping and acting fearful was starting to make her head swim.
Switching off the radio, Laurel concentrated on the terrain below. It was pretty thick with vegetation--no bare spots. "Shit. I'm just going to have to make a hole."
After checking the distance from the village, she targeted a spot near a small stream of water, did a life form scan and hit it with a laser beam when she saw there was no higher life forms within the immediate vicinity. The beam cut a twenty foot diameter swath through the vegetation, clearing it to the dirt. Satisfied, she dropped her cruiser into the 'hole' she'd made.
When the onboard computer informed her that the craft had landed, she shut everything down, threw off her safety belts and moved to the viewing ports. A shiver of delight went through her. "I'm going to have the best damned thesis that University has ever set eyes on!" she said gleefully.
Unfortunately, she only had a couple of weeks, tops, to gather her data. Less than that if there was a confederation cruiser close enough to do a fly by and check her story out.
With that thought, Laurel drew her laser pistol from the holster and studied the interior of the cruiser carefully, trying to decide where to put the holes. Fortunately, it occurred to her before she'd done it that micro meteors would have struck outside to in, not vice versa. Sighing, she opened the hatch and lowered the gang plank.
The scent of vegetation that struck her as the door slid open was nearly overwhelming. The smell of flowers, and fruit, dead things, rotting vegetation--and burned vegetation, assaulted her in a cacophony of smells.
"This is going to take some getting used to," she muttered. "Who'd have thought plants would smell?" The plants on the space station didn't seem to have that much smell, but maybe it was because there weren't nearly so many plants so close together?
Or, maybe it was the dirt?
Or the animals?
Shrugging, she went down the gang plank and picked her way around the craft carefully, studying the ship speculatively. She really hated having to put holes in it, but the enforcers of the Confederation Policing Agency were bound to check her ship to see if she'd made up her 'emergency' landing. Sighing, she moved around to the rudder and pull a couple of half inch holes in it, scattered a couple on the fins in an artful splash and then, after studying the cockpit carefully for some time, placed two in the main cabin.
When she'd finished, she went inside to check the damage. "Well fuck! Wouldn't you know it! I hit the damned radio!"
Now they were going to be wondering how she'd managed to call for help. "Fuck it!" she muttered irritably. She could fix it later. She'd just have to tell them she'd had to patch the radio up before she radioed in her distress call, but she couldn't get the other holes plugged.
That would work.
She was probably going to have to put a few more holes in the ship before she left though.
Fortunately, she had brought plenty of supplies for repairs, just in case she met up with an accident on her trip to the Perrsons Star System, which just happened to make it necessary for her to pass right by the HS Nebula.
Shoving her pistol into her holster, she went to her locker and started pulling her instruments out and checking them.
First things first--she was going to have to get close enough to pick up speech with her translator before it could start analyzing the language. Once she had enough input, though, she'd be able to tell what they were talking about and then she could start taking notes on their social order, religious practices, mating rituals and so forth.
This was just sooooo exciting! She was going to be the first, the only, person to study the primitives of NY3410!
* * * *
Faine D'Arten narrowed his eyes as he sensed the strange disturbance in the sky above the village once more. When he focused upon it, he saw that it was almost cylindrical in shape--like a curved piece of the sky. Frowning, he followed it with his gaze until he determined the direction of its path and set off through the jungle. There he followed it by the disturbance it created in the tops of the trees. He was nearing the stream when he saw a bright light appear in the forest before him. The vegetation simply turned to ash before his eyes.
His expression hardened. He had known it must be one of the star people. They were forbidden to visit his world, but he had seen the evidence of their trespass before.
Grimly, he found a position to watch and waited to see if he could determine what the intruder had come for.
As the strange object began to settle toward the ground, it ceased to look like a piece of the sky and took on the look of the jungle surrounding it. If he had not known it was there, he might have overlooked it. It did not look just the same. The images were wavery--like when heat danced upon the horizon, but unless one were specifically searching for it, the disguise was good enough to fool most.
Of course the desecration of the forest would have been a strong indication that something was not as it should be.
When he heard a faint sound that seemed to indicate activity, he moved around the perimeter for a better look. A hole had opened in the side of the object. His heart slammed against his ribs as he saw the creature that appeared in the opening.
It was the most beautiful being he had ever set eyes upon, with hair the color of the sun and pale, golden skin. His gaze dropped to its chest. When he saw that it was female a sense of desire and possessiveness moved over him.
Mesmerized, he watched the bounce and sway of her breasts as she walked down the board that led to the ground, bringing her closer so that he could see he hadn't just imagined how beautiful she was. She wore some strange garment that covered most of her body, but it conformed to her shape and he could see that her body was as beautifully formed as her features. Her hair, drawn back tightly from her face and worn tied together high on the back of her head, swung as she walked, catching sunlight within it that sparkled like the yellow metal the women of his people were so fond of adorning themselves with.
He had no desire to adorn his body with anything but hers, he thought, stalking her as she moved around the strange object, watching curiously as she pulled a stick from a carrier along her hip. His eyes widened when light shot from the stick--straight into the object that had carried her to his world.
A smile curled her lips as she studied what she had done and then she turned and went inside once more.
Puzzled, he settled down to wait until she came out once more, dividing half his mind between trying to understand what she had done and why she had done it, and the other half in trying to decide how best to capture her.
The weapon--it had to be a weapon--would be almost as good a prize as the female herself, but he had no desire to discover what it would do to his body when something much like it had reduced the forest to ash.
He was glad he had not ignored the strange dream vision that he had had.
He was glad he had waited to take a wife.
THE SEXDROID
by
Jaide Fox
(c) copyright August 2003, Jaide Fox
Cover art by Eliza Black, (c) copyright August 2003
New Concepts Publishing
4729 Humphreys Rd.
Lake Park, GA 31636
www.newconceptspublishing.com
CHAPTER ONE
Earth, AD 2193
Sabin Grey had gone undercover before, many times. In fact, he was damn good at his job ... but he'd never gone under as an android, and he entertained a good deal of reservations about whether or not he could pull it off.
"Well? Are you going to answer me or not, Grey?" Assistant Director Hartley asked as he lounged behind his desk, an unfamiliar smile tugging at his lips as if he was trying very hard to repress it.
Sabin grunted in response. If he hadn't known better, he'd suspect Hartley was setting him up for some sort of practical joke, but Hartley wasn't exactly the type to play juvenile games with his people, even off duty. Considering the case his boss had just dumped in his lap, it seemed even less likely that there was some sort of prank in the offing. It wasn't every day one of their top scientist's came under review for treason.
All the same, something was up. Hartley was the kind of guy that could watch the Stooges with a poker face and at the moment he looked as if he was going to explode if he didn't laugh. Sabin wasn't sure he wanted to find out what it was, but he was afraid he was about to.
Wondering if there was something about the case itself that Hartley thought he was going to find particularly unpleasant, he punched the button on the case file once more, using the stylus to go through the file and surveillance photos. Emily Shue. Loner. Work and lab at home. Animal lover. He clicked to the next file and studied the image that popped up; Lips turned up at the corners, almost smiling as she chewed her pen. Pert nose with a dust of freckles and long, curly hair climbing down her shoulders. Blonde.
Trouble. Definite Trouble. Maybe that was what Hartley found so humorous-the idea of throwing Sabin in with a babe that looked like this when he was going to have to nail her if it turned out she was a traitor.
It wasn't the sort of thing he'd find amusing, but who knew what an undertaker like Hartley would find funny?
"She doesn't look like a traitor, she looks like--"
"The girl next door?"
Sabin nodded. "Yes, exactly."
"Don't let her appearance fool you. She's been evading our surveillance for weeks. Head office wanted to go ahead and bring her in for the treatment, and then we found out her grandmother had ordered her a sex--I mean, a companion droid."
Sabin leveled a dark look at Hartley, who chuckled and ignored him.
Well, there it was, the funny part, and it hadn't taken nearly as long to get to the punch line as he'd thought it would. Strange thing was, he still didn't see the damned humor in it. "What if I say no?"
"You like your job here, correct?"
Sabin sighed and shut down the case file. No wonder Hartley had been wearing that cat-that-ate-the-canary smile. "I don't have any choice in this, do I?"
"No." Hartley straightened, his aged face solemn now. "Jokes aside, this is serious. Someone's been leaking our dimensional jump technology to the UAN. You know as well as I do we can't afford to let this get out. Emily Shue is the keystone to the project. The breach has to be stopped, Grey, and you're my best man."
Hartley was right. Far too much valuable information had been stolen already and it was beginning to look like they were going to loose their edge on this project if they couldn't find the leak and plug it. Despite his reservations, he knew it was his duty to the country to find out if she was passing information to the other side.
"When does the droid arrive?"
"She's expecting it this afternoon."
Sabin was accustomed to the unexpected, but this knocked the wind out of him. Nothing like giving him no time to think it over and spot potential problems. "That doesn't leave me much time to prepare." Sabin stood as did Hartley.
"You'll manage," he said as he ushered Sabin from the office. "We all do."
* * * *
The incessant knocking had been going on for some time when it finally stopped and roused Emily Shue into consciousness.
She sat up at her desk, startled and groggy, blinking back the blur obscuring her vision. When had she fallen asleep? And who was at her door? She never had visitors.
Rising weakly from her chair, she stumbled through the room into the hall beyond to the foyer.
As if sensing her approach, the person on the other side of the door began knocking again.
More than a little annoyed at being woken, she called, "Coming! I'm comin'." She grumbled to herself, rubbed her face and discovered she had a note stuck to her cheek. She'd undoubtedly picked it up when she'd lain her head on her desk. Peeling it off, she glanced at it, saw it was important and stuffed it into her pocket as she cautiously opened the front door a crack and peered through the narrow opening.
A beaming, bright eyed youth greeted her, leaning forward to peer back at her through the slender crack. "Ms. Shue?"
"Yes," Emily croaked.
"I have your delivery here. You just need to sign for it."
Delivery? What delivery? She hadn't ordered anything since last week's pizza--still sitting at the bottom of her fridge. Or perhaps that was the week before last? Anyway, it was nearly dark. Companies had stopped delivering this close to dark years ago.
As she stood contemplating the matter, not budging, 'bright eyes' smile dimmed to headlights in her eyes. "Your companion android, Ms. Shue?"
She was still too absorbed in trying to remember what she might have ordered to really pay him any attention--until he mentioned android. Her eyes focused on him for several moments as the key word jogged something in her memory and then she slapped her forehead with her palm. She'd forgotten all about Gramma's early birthday present. Or it could have been late? She wasn't entirely sure what day of the week it was.
Emily opened the door and pressed her thumb to the delivery confirmation pad, affirming her receipt of the delivery. "What are you doing making deliveries so late? I thought they were only doing automated deliveries now."
"It is automated, Ms. Shue. I'm an android, as well." He smiled brighter.
That would explain the peachy keen disposition, she thought and wondered what she was getting in to now ... or rather what Gramma had gotten her in to.
"I'll be right back with your package, Ms. Shue."
"Hope he comes fully assembled," she murmured, chuckling as she left the door open and wandered into the living room to have a seat while she waited. She was still more than a little groggy from being awakened so abruptly. Or maybe it was just that she hadn't slept nearly long enough?
Before she could rest her cheeks on the cushions of the couch, a deep male voice called her name from the foyer.
It arrested her, mid sit, her jaw going slack.
The 'man' caught sight of her and strode into the living room, his hand extended. "I'm Sabin. I will be your new companion android," he said with a smile that turned her knees to water so that she collapsed abruptly onto the couch. She gaped at him, at his sensual, utterly kissable lips, the smoky bedroom eyes that met her own stunned gaze with a gleam that banish all thought from her brain. He towered above her. She came upright as if the couch had ejected her, and realized he still towered over her.
She ran a disbelieving stare up and down his body. He had the lean look of an athlete, muscles well defined and bulging on his bared arms, and she wondered idly if the rest of him was so ... detailed. A strand of dark hair curled over his forehead. It looked so natural, it made her palms itch to run her fingers through the thick mass.
Her brain kicked into gear as her physical reaction ran it's course, and still she stared at him, unblinking, marveling at the advances in technology that never ceased to amaze her--to create a perfect simulation of a human being ... and a damned sexy one at that. Was he supposed to be so ... so sexy?
What in the world was she going to do with him?
The frightening thought provided resuscitation to the steaming pile of mush her brain had been reduced to. Or, perhaps it was only an animal reaction to fear that finally gave her a kick in the ass. Whatever the case, the moment it occurred to her that she was going to be trapped in her home with him, she dashed past him and out the front door.
The delivery boy, she saw when she ran out of the house, had loaded up and was backing down the drive.
"Wait!" she called, hailing him down before he could escape. He stopped and she caught up to him breathlessly.
"Yes, Ms. Shue?" He regarded her questioningly.
"Are you sure he's supposed to ... um ... be this way? Did you deliver the right one to me?" She hadn't expected something like this. What had Gramma been thinking?
"Of course, ma'am. He comes with award winning technical support and a manual built in to his memory capacitor. Have a nice day." The boy waved and drove off, leaving Emily staring after him in the gathering dark.
With a feeling not unlike dread, she trudged slowly back up her overgrown walkway to her new "live in."
What was she to do now?
She kept repeating the question in her mind numbly until she reached the door. Uneasiness assailed her at the thought of facing her 'companion' once more. She stepped quietly into the house, closing the door with the barest whisper of sound, then crept across the foyer and peered cautiously around the door frame of the living room.
It was empty.
Where had he gone off to?
She looked around the room blankly for several moments before she moved inside. She'd checked under all of the tables in the room before it occurred to her that he wasn't an animal, scampering about, exploring his new territory. Even if he could've managed to fit himself under her tables, there was no reason why he would. She got up and went to check the closet, wondering if it would be best just to ignore the droid and go about her routine as usual. It wasn't like he was a living thing and would keel over dead if she forgot to feed him, or water him. In general, she worked all day on her equations, occasionally remembering to feed herself and her pets-when she had them--snatching sleep when she could.
She frowned thoughtfully and realized that wasn't going to work. She had a ... person wandering around the house. She was bound to bump into him and that would be downright unnerving since she wasn't used to having another person around. She was accustomed to living alone. Even her independent minded pets avoided her most of the time.
"Hello?" she called softly as she left the living room and continued her search through the house, examining every room. It wasn't a very large house. There were only so many places he could be. He was a droid, she reminded herself. What interest would he have in exploring anyway? But as she searched each room with no sign of him, she soon found the choices of hiding places had dried up to only one remaining room.
Her bedroom.
The door was closed. She never closed her bedroom door unless she was sleeping in there-and she fell asleep at her desk more often than not. Please, please don't let him be in there. Emily had never had a man in her room--ever.
Reaching out, she turned the handle and let the door slowly open on its own.
She gasped as her bed came in to view, covering her eyes with her hands before it occurred to her how absurd it was to 'hide' from an android. Peeling her fingers loose, she looked at her bed again.
The android was in it.
And he was naked.
Yar
and the
Orgasmizer9000
by Marie Morin
(c) copyright September 2003, Marie Morin
Cover art by Jenny Dixon, (c) copyright September 2003
New Concepts Publishing
5202 Humphreys Rd.
Lake Park, GA 31636
www.newconceptspublishing.com
Chapter One
Serena became aware that her sex slave, Yar, was studying her carefully as she programmed the pod for her excursion to Las Vegas. It was forbidden to teach slaves. They knew everything they needed to know to pleasure their mistresses before they went on the market, and in any case, most women were far too busy to spend that much time with their toys.
On the other hand, it was also forbidden to visit Earth and she'd never let that bother her. It was an uncivilized, male dominated society for some unfathomable reason. Earth people were technological children beside her own world, but Serena had had a taste for souvenirs of Earth culture from the time she'd accidentally stumbled upon the planet decades ago during one of her first missions. More recently, she'd discovered a passion for the gambling and decadence available no where in the universe as it was in Las Vegas.
Instead of reprimanding him, therefore, she ignored him as she generally did. She liked his cleverness. She supposed that was probably the main reason she hadn't tired of him yet, even though she'd had him for several years and usually purchased a new sex toy yearly, or every other year at the very most.
When she'd finished programming the computer, she turned to him and patted him on the knee. "Be a good boy, now, and don't play with any of the buttons on the console while I'm gone."
"Will you be gone long, Mistress?"
"At least a few days. Maybe a week. You'll be fine. The ship's well hidden in this moon crater. If a patrol happens by, you are not, under any circumstances, to answer their hail. Understand? Otherwise, I'm liable to loose rank, and could end up in the brig, and you know what that means."
He frowned. "They'll sell me to cover your fine?"
Serena nodded.
"What am I to do while you're gone, Mistress?"
Serena raised her brows. "What do you usually do?"
He looked glum. "Nothing."
Serena smiled and patted his knee again. "Well, you can do what you usually do then."
Instead of looking relieved, he looked even more unhappy and Serena frowned. "Don't you enjoy doing nothing?" she asked curiously.
A number of emotions chased across his face as he battled an inner debate. Finally, he smiled vacuously. "I like to make love to you. Would you like for me to service you before you go?"
Serena grinned and patted his cheek. "Not this time, pretty fellow. I'm more interested in the gambling-If I need some sexual recreation, I'll probably just take an Earth male. They amuse me."
Yar reddened and Serena frowned, studying him suspiciously. "You're not jealous, are you?"
He turned pale. "No, Mistress."
"Good," Serena said, dismissing him. "You had me worried for a minute there. I thought I might need to send you off for reconditioning-run along now."
Yar withdrew from the pod and raced toward the air lock, knowing Serena was about to open the bay doors. He'd barely sealed it shut when the bay doors opened. He stood watching from the portal as she launched the pod from the belly of her ship.
After a moment, he thought of the viewer. He wasn't supposed to touch it, but Serena was gone. She'd never know the difference.
Turning, he raced along the gangway and climbed the ladder to the main operations room. Faking a feminine voice, he requested the computer turn on the viewer.
"Mistress Serena?"
"Yes?" Yar said in the same voice.
"You do not sound like Mistress Serena. I do not detect but one life form and it computes as the male slave, Yar."
Yar fought a round with irritation. "Yar is playing my recorded voice. I told him he could watch the viewing screen for entertainment while I was gone."
"Why did you not program me before you left?"
"I shall tell Mistress Serena you questioned her orders when she gets back. She'll reprogram you," Yar said.
The viewing screen blinked on. Relieved, Yar studied it and finally saw the pod, which was no more than a speck of moving light by now. "The pod's almost out of sight. Can you magnify?"
Obediently, the computer adjusted the viewing range and Yar watched as Serena's pod entered the Earth's atmosphere. It seemed to drop very rapidly toward the planet once it had left space. As he watched, four dark shapes, like a swarm of Barbron stinging insects, appeared on the screen and converged on the pod. Serena's pod suddenly began an odd sort of dance, zipping in first one direction and then another as the dark shapes trailed it. Yar frowned, wondering what Serena was doing.
Quite suddenly, two of the dark shapes collided, creating a ball of fire and light. Yar's heart skipped a beat. "Those barbarians! They're attacking Mistress Serena! Do something!" he exclaimed.
"I require orders," the computer responded.
"Do something!" Yar yelled again.
"You are a slave. You can not issue orders."
"Fire-before they strike her pod!"
"It is forbidden to carry out orders issued by a slave," the computer responded.
Frustrated, Yar looked around the ship, but he knew it was useless. He had never seen Mistress Serena fire a cannon. He had no idea how to fire one if the computer refused to do so. Helplessly, he watched Serena's pod as it continued to dance and loop circles around the dark shapes that trailed her pod as if attached by some invisible wire. Quite suddenly one slammed into the pod. A ball of fire and smoke arose. The other dark shape flew into the cloud and it, too, exploded.
Yar gasped, watching in horrified disbelief as Serena's pod began to drop toward the planet, trailing smoke. After several moments, it occurred to him that the pod seemed in tact and did not seem completely out of control.
"Closer, computer!"
Again, the computer magnified the view, and Yar watched in helpless fear as the pod skidded across the surface and disappeared finally in a cloud of earth and debris.
He began pacing then, wondering what he should do. Serena had said he was to do nothing, but she hadn't expected to be shot down by the barbarians. He thought she had landed the pod, but he didn't think she would be able to return to the ship with it.
If he could convince the computer to put out a distress call….
That wouldn't do. Serena would be furious. Someone would come, all right, but it was forbidden even to enter this solar system, and the penalty was worse for actually landing on the planet. He knew that much. He'd heard Serena's sisters….
"Computer, you must call Serena's sisters."
"I can not take orders from a slave."
After arguing with the computer for the better part of an hour, Yar's fear and frustration became purposeful anger. He began searching the console.
"What are you doing, slave Yar?"
"Looking for your memory chip."
"What will you do with my memory chip?"
"Remove it."
"You are not authorized to remove my memory chip, Yar."
Yar didn't respond.
"If you remove my memory chip, you will shut down life support, Yar."
"No I won't. I heard Mistress Serena talk about removing your memory chip. She has another one somewhere."
"I am calling Mistress Serena's sisters."
A sense of satisfaction settled over Yar and he sat down to wait for the computer to make contact, trying not to think what might become of him if Mistress Serena did not come back. It was possible her sisters might come to retrieve her ship and either take him as one of their own, or sell him. It was also possible they would not think retrieving the ship worth the risk of being jailed and fined.
He might spend the rest of his natural life trapped on this barren rock with no company but the computer.
He shuddered at the thought.
"I have managed to reach three of Mistress Serena's sisters. I can not get a response from the others."
"What did you tell them?"
"That Mistress Serena's slave, Yar, had become afflicted with space dementia."
Yar frowned. "Let me speak to them."
"They hear you. The channel is open."
"Mistress Serena's pod has been shot down by the Earth barbarians!" Yar exclaimed. "She needs help."
"What the hell is she doing on Earth? I forbade her to go back again. I told her she was going to keep risking it until she found herself kicking her heels in jail. Who is this?"
"Yar," he responded meekly.
"What the hell is a slave doing on communications? Did your mistress teach you this?"
"No, Mistress," he said, unable to identify the voice, though he suspected it must be Serena's oldest sister, Sylvia.
"What did Mistress Serena tell you when she left, Yar?"
"To do nothing."
"Then do nothing, damn it! And stay off communications before you're picked up, for Krone's Sake! She'll get herself out of whatever jam she's gotten into. She had no business even going to Earth! I'm sick of bailing that girl out of her jams."
"But … the pod crashed. How is she to get back?"
"Don't worry your pretty head over it, Yar. Mistress Serena can take care of herself," Serena's sister, Sadia responded, almost gently.
"But…."
"Close communications."
Yar stood listening to the silence for several moments and finally returned to the bed chamber and sat on his pallet, staring at Mistress Serena's bed. He was angry, confused and scared. It was all very well to say Serena could take care of herself. He knew under most circumstances, she could. She was an experienced ship's captain, and she'd fought in at least a dozen campaigns over the years that he knew about, and come out of the battles virtually unscathed.
This was different, though. She'd crashed the pod. He knew the Earth people were barbarians. He'd heard Serena call them that many times. He also knew that they did not have the technology the women of Barbron had. How would she repair her ship without anything to repair it?
He didn't know whether he felt better or worse about the fact that Serena had assured him the ship was well hidden.
No one was going to find him.
He could be here forever if she didn't come back.
After a while, it occurred to him that he should go after her. The idea paralyzed him for several moments. He wasn't supposed to fly a pod, and that was the only way he could go to help. He wasn't even supposed to consider doing anything he hadn't been specifically told he might do, or anything he'd been ordered to do.
If he rescued Serena, instead of being happy, she might send him for reconditioning.
She might sell him off.
After more consideration, however, he decided he'd rather be sold off or sent back for reconditioning than left on this rock. He stood up and began pacing, trying to decide what he would do once he reached Earth. He was fairly certain he could remember how Serena had programmed the pod. He thought he could get there, but what then? What if instead of just crashed and stranded without a way to repair the ship, he found that she was under attack? What if she had been captured by the barbarians that had fired on her ship?
Finally, he shook the thoughts off. He thought most everything Serena might need would be on the pod. Once he found her, she'd know what to do.
Then it occurred to him that the barbarians might shoot his pod down as they had Serena's. He didn't know how to fly it as Serena did. He only knew how to program the computer to fly it.
What if they captured him?
The thought shook him, but he decided he still preferred the idea of taking a chance to staying in the ship and dying of boredom, alone, with only Serena's onboard computer to talk to. He hated that computer.
Having made the decision, he grabbed his Orgasmizer9000. It was his only possession and he couldn't bear the thought of leaving it behind. Besides, it occurred to him that he might have to barter it for his mistress.
It didn't occur to Yar until he'd launched the pod that Serena's pod probably hadn't landed where she'd told it to land. Panic seized him when he realized it, because he only knew how to program the pod exactly as she had.
He realized suddenly, that he was going to have to look for his mistress and he had no idea how to do that.
He also realized, however, that he had no idea how to program the pod to return to the ship. He'd never seen Serena do that.
Unnerved, he settled back in his seat, watching as the pod took him, inevitably, toward the blue planet below him, trying to convince himself that, somehow, he'd figure out what to do once he got there.
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