by Isaac Stone
She picked up a dusty old book and adjusted her glasses to look at something. "According to this code," she spoke, "which hasn't been updated in twenty years, you can take her with you as spoils of war."
I was a bit surprised. "Come again?" I asked her.
"You're outside my jurisdiction," she explained. "The only one you fall under is at the top level. So I can let you take her with you and spare me the trouble."
"What are we going to do with her?" I asked.
"Not my problem," Commander Janice replied. "I've checked with Captain Sophia and she's leaving the final decision with you."
Tank and I looked at each other.
"We'll take her," I spoke to the commander.
"You sure this is good idea?" Tank asked. He leaned back in his chair, a bit puzzled by what happened.
"We'll find some way to make use of her," I explained, "Get some intelligence out of her or blow her out of an airlock."
"What we need is four men trained or capable of being trained to fly an FAS," Tank countered. "Not some random woman who tried to kill us. Oh, and a new FAS."
"Maybe we can trade her off," I countered. "Plenty of Order ships needing new breeders."
"And what if she doesn't like men?" Tank argued again.
"Then we trade her to an Amazon group."
The commander sighed and picked up a phone. "They'll take her," she told whoever was on the other side. "Bring the transfer paperwork too; I want this settled in an hour.
There was a knock at the door and we stood up. "Bring her in," Commander Janice called to the door.
It opened to reveal the slight form of the Roka woman who'd tried to massacre us. She was held by two uniformed UDF men.
"Here she is," one of the guards spoke. The other one walked over and handed me a clipboard with some paperwork to sign.
Other than the chains, the prisoner was naked. Now I could see that my first estimate was right, she was very healthy. From where I stood, she didn't appear to have had children before.
"Why is she naked?" I asked the commander.
"Everything in her possession is the property of the investigation team," Commander Janice described. "This included her clothes and shoes. Oh, and one other thing."
"What's that?" I asked while glancing over the very angry and naked woman in front of us.
"She doesn't appear to have a name. The one used was fake and she won't tell us her real one. Guess you get to come up with a new one. Guards will accompany you to a special ferry. It's small but will take the three of you back. Guards will take you through a service tunnel."
"Alright," Tank spoke. "Time to get back home."
He stood up, walked over to the prisoner, and tossed her over a shoulder in one motion. She began to wail and scream in a language none of us understood, her shapely ass bouncing in the air. She beat on Tank's back with her bound hands, and then stopped when she realized it would do her no good.
"I've got a name for her," Tank spoke as he strolled down the service corridor with me.
"Let's have it," I replied.
"Precious," He answered. "Think that will do?"
"Only if Captain approves."
She did. We aren't usually in the business of flesh trade, but she definitely had good genes, and she was squandering them on the Roka, so waste not want not. Yeah, weird day.
I couldn't sense much from Precious, other than a lot of rage and desire to kill everyone on the mothership. The language barrier was too difficult for me to cross and I had no idea where she'd originated. There were thousands of planets in the UDF, each with many different ways to speak. Most people spoke their local language and Galactic Standard. On board the Hard Rain, we spoke the standard language for communication and another one used by the pack, a battle cant that was tough for anyone who might be eavesdropping on our conversations would not be able to decipher.
Once the ferry let us off on the mothership, Tank let Precious walk out on her own through the hanger, although under his direction. He seemed to take an interest in our captive that I didn't like. He guided precious, still naked and in chains, into the ready room.
We were greeted by Latasha and Alyx, both of whom carried a set of clothes for her. They looked Precious over as Tank unsnapped the chains from her body. The chains were handed to the UDF guard who followed us. He gathered them up and returned to his ferry.
"We'll have to get Cherish to run some tests on her," Latasha spoke. "Can't have her mixing with the others if she's contagious."
"According to the medical report they gave us," I spoke. "She's free of any pathogens."
"If you believe it," Alyx spoke and took a step closer to our captive. She wrapped a robe around Precious and snapped it closed.
"Precious, right?" Latasha snorted as she reached out one hand and touched the prisoner's waist-length hair. Latasha turned and looked her in the face. "That comes off, sweetie. You'll learn to adjust. She twirled Precious hair between two fingers.
Precious reached out and attempted to slap Latasha away, but the other woman grabbed her hand and squeezed. I could see the look of pain in our captive's face.
"Got some work to do with this one if we plan to get anything of her in trade."
Both she and Alyx walked away, each one holding one of Precious' wrists.
"You do realize that Precious is your responsibility?" Captain told me as we reclined in her quarters.
"How does that work?" I demanded. My knowledge of space faring law was never that good.
"You made the call, she's your concern," Captain explained. "You can't own people, but they can be assigned to you. And no I don't mean that kind of assignment."
"She looks healthy," Tank admired.
"She might be the pinnacle of health," Captain told him, "but you still can't fuck her. And won't be able to unless she decides to pledge. Hell, no one can understand her, plus she tried to massacre my pack. Roka remember? The sooner we trade her off for someone we do need, who can pledge, the better. So, get the fantasies out of your head. You have eighteen women to sleep with in this ship, be grateful for what you have. Nineteen when I need you."
Tank dropped his head and looked at the floor. He'd gone a bit far.
"We have more trouble," Captain told us. "The Udies want to move us again."
"Back where we were?" I asked. It would put us closer to the colonies and other Order ships.
"No," she dashed my hopes. "We're still stuck in this godforsaken system. They want us to relocate to Tamara, one of the inner planets that's habitable. There's still Roka shit on Tamara Prime, the capital city, and we get to wipe it off the floor."
"Business as usual," I sighed.
"We get to go in on the first wave with some Horde and Amazon groups. The plan is to strike at the leadership down in that city and bring all this mess to an end."
"Are the battle plans ready?” I asked her.
"They will be soon. It should all be in place in a few days. Now get out of her, you both have assignments and the night is upon us."
As we left Captain's room, we passed Marcus on his way into it.
"Guess she's under a lot of stress," Tank commented as the door closed behind our teammate.
I was scheduled to be with Latasha for the evening and made my way over to her quarters. Since we men rotate between the women's rooms, we know the outline of them very well. I tried to get the situation with Precious out of my mind. I'd last seen her with Alyx and Latasha. Since I'd be with Latasha all evening, I could ask her about my latest "responsibility".
I still didn't understand what it meant. I'd decided to bring Precious back to the mothership because I didn't want her left down on that planetoid. Plus, I thought she might be exchanged for a new addition to the pack. It appeared I was in for more than intended.
I knocked on Latasha's door and waited. To either side of me, my pack brothers did the same. Latasha was a bit slow this evening and I watched as quite a few doors opened to receive the assignment for
the evening shift. Since the Hard Rain still had to undergo a test run of the repairs, the deck didn't need many people to keep it in operation. There would be a lot of love tonight, especially after what happened on Tomba station.
Latasha opened the door and let me inside. She'd changed to a sheer gown, one I assumed she picked up at the agora. She gave me the customary hug and kiss. However, I noted a brief hesitation in what she did.
"Corwin," she whispered into my ear, "I've waited a long time for you, but we have to address something."
"I meant to ask you about the woman I brought back and what to do about her," I spoke to Latasha as I began to unbutton the top of the uniform I had on that evening. I figured she would have something I could wear for the mess hall.
"You mean her?" Latasha asked as she waved a hand at the chair to one side of the room.
In the chair sat Precious. She wore a two-piece outfit that showed off her slim waist and large breasts. They were the first thing you noticed after the snarl on her face.
I walked over and looked at her. Her hair was cut to shoulder length and they'd done a good job with the cut. I noticed one side of her head was shaved, although it was hidden by a long lock of hair from the scalp. They'd kept the deep black color of her hair.
"Well," I spoke. "This is a change. Did she give you much trouble?"
Latasha walked over to Precious and pointed up the ceiling at her. Our captive rose up and stood at attention. I could see the hatred in her eyes for both of us, but she followed orders.
"She learned a few commands quickly," Latasha, explained. "I think she knows more Galactic Standard than she lets on, but we'll get around to that later."
I walked over to my little responsibility and admired the change. "Did you have to hold her down?" I asked.
"Nope," Latasha answered. "She didn't give us any trouble once we put one of these on her."
Latasha pulled Precious' stretch pants down to the knees. Precious continued to stare at me but didn't move. High on her thigh, near the gap in between her legs, a silver ring was wrapped around one thigh.
"What the hell is that?" I asked her. I'd never seen anything like it before.
"Latest thing in prisoner control," Latasha told me. "She gives us any grief, or tries to get away, Precious gets a multiple orgasm. Non-stop until I cut the signal."
Latasha held up a small box. Precious took one look at it and backed up.
"Makes them easy to find too," Latasha added. "Especially with this girl. She ran off and I turned it on. Found her pulsing and screaming on the floor two minutes later."
"I huge orgasm doesn't sound like any kind of punishment," I mentioned. "For most guys, that would be a bribe."
"Spoken as a true man," Latasha sighed. "Women aren't so orgasm-obsessed. Anyway it has its benefits, but seriously, it can be hell if it hits you non-stop. Don't let it fool you, this is basically a slaver's whip."
"You never did tell me why she's here," I spoke to Latasha.
"Your responsibility until we decide what to do with her. That means she has to be with you when you have your assignment. Don't get any ideas, Captain told me how she couldn’t be used. Not a sex toy for you to play with. Not part of the pack so you don't get to be inside her."
I changed, and we made our way to the mess hall with Precious following a few feet behind us. She didn't say a thing but padded along with us. Hard to believe this was the same women who'd tried to kill me earlier.
"I've heard about the place where the Udies are sending the pack to next," Latasha spoke to me. "Not a big fan of fighting it out in system. I thought the whole idea was that we patrolled the border regions of the free-fire zone and they left us alone. The damn Roka are still a problem down there. We'll be up against the planet's own defense forces the moment we drop hyper and make orbit, if they've been turned."
We found a table and sat down. Precious hesitated a few seconds, and then sat done across from us. A few pack members were already in the mess hall. They turned to stare at the strange docile woman who'd tried to kill all of us.
Latasha reached over and touched Precious' hair. "Like those highlights?" She asked. "They came out nice. It was my idea to shave the side of her head. I think she looks pretty."
Precious didn't give me any trouble at all the week we finished with the repairs and fittings on the Hard Rain. I did have to get used to her being around during my assignments, but she managed to behave herself. Most of the time she'd sleep on the floor or a cushion until the next morning. Whatever that ring did, it made quite an impression on her and she never once tried to attack me or run off. A few times, she brought over clean towels for my assignment and me. The women I was with learned to get used to her.
Although she never spoke, Precious did manage to learn some basic things. Captain remarked at how well she worked out, in spite of her origins. She'd report back to me every evening and follow respectfully behind to my next assignment.
All of which changed the day we dropped out of hyperspace into the orbit of Tamara.
I'd made provisions for her. Precious was to be transferred to Latasha. I didn't worry about anything going wrong as Latasha did such great work with her on the first few days. Precious had managed to learn a few basic phrases in Galactic, which helped.
The Great Khan from the Silver Horde was already in place when we dropped out of hyperspace. A few hours later, the Mary Sue of the Amazon Collective made an appearance. The entire operation was supposed to be coordinated by the UDF Navy, but I didn't think it would happen as they planned.
I turned out to be right.
I shook my head to get rid of the effects of transit through the Insubstantia barrier only to hear the wail of an "all hands" alarm. I was getting my uniform on in Latasha's quarters when we dropped into orbit.
I looked Precious directly in the face and handed Latasha the controller. She hadn't needed it in a while, but we couldn't take risks.
I wrapped my arms around Latasha. "Take good care of my responsibility," I told her. "This shouldn't take long, but you never know."
"Come back safe," she whispered in my ear. "I'll see that she doesn't get into trouble."
"You go?" a voice spoke at my elbow. It was precious trying to let me know she understood.
"Yes," I told her. "I'll be back too. You listen to Latasha; she'll take good care of you."
I had a sudden bit of inspiration. Before she could react, I leaned over and kissed Precious on the lips. It shocked her a bit and she stepped back a few steps. Precious touched her lips and looked at me in confusion.
"Captain's not going to like that," Latasha spoke. "You know the rules."
"In case I never get to do that," I explained. "You can't deny a man heading off to certain death a last kiss."
"No, and it's not the first time you've gone off."
"True, but it could be my last." I bounded out of the door.
All three crews were assembled in the ready room by the time I arrived. Captain was there by the time I was in my armor and standing outside our FAS. She narrowed her eyes when I presented myself.
"Late, Corwin," she snapped. "You were supposed to be here two minutes ago. I don't care if you had to say goodbye to an extra person or not, you were supposed to be ready."
"Apologies," I managed to say.
"Do it again next time and she's Tank's responsibility," Captain snapped. She was serious.
For some reason, losing Precious bothered me. It shouldn't have, but I liked having her around, even though I was forbidden from sleeping with her. Maybe that's what made those UDF boys so crazy, being surrounded as they were by women they did not have an assurance of sleeping with at some point. Must be exhausting.
"Your crew will be the first one out there," She ordered. "Everyone, into your ships and prepare for launch. I'm holding Tank's back until I see how this shakes out. Shelly will be the third."
Minutes later, we were inside the FAS and prepared for launch. I received the order to take th
e war to the hostiles the moment the doors opened to the hanger.
As Orlando fired the thrusters, we were sent out into the void over planet Tamara. I looked at the low screen and saw a blue and green planet that teemed with life. Right now, it was racked with war, but we were determined to bring the conflict to an end.
"Corwin," a voice came through the audio. "Latasha here, Captain wants me to keep the line open. Stand by for coordinates. Expect a hot zone."
"Doesn't surprise me at all," I told her. “Captain wasn't happy I was a few minutes late."
"Don't worry about your little girl," Latasha told me. "I have Precious right here next to me. She's learned how to get tea when I need it."
"You've got her in the control room?" I asked Latasha. "Is that such a good idea, given what we're going through and where we got her? You trust her?"
"I trust the trigger box. She still has the ring on her thigh."
"Still don't understand how those things are deterrent."
"Maybe I should tell you about the male version. It's a metal cage and can squeeze...."
"That's all I need to know. Anything else you want to advise me on as regards to what we're headed into?"
"A real shit storm. We've had those renegade TDF ships try to break through our naval formation. They tried it at speeds no one thought their ships could reach. Turned out to be another suicide run because the starfighters couldn't handle the acceleration and fell apart. You might try to use your gift and reach out into their minds."
I'd already done that, but it meant with no success because they'd learn to accept death when it was inevitable. Thus, no fear mixed with exhalation states. I also didn't like how everyone on the ship had seemed to have heard about Tank and myself being interviewed by Goat Squad, and my premonition at the restaurant.
The battle for control of the airspace over Tamara Prime was the worst I'd ever experienced.
Most of the attack ships from the rump TDF worked out of a hidden base inside a hollowed-out asteroid in orbit around the planet. There were countless asteroids in orbit due to the unique way the planet was formed in the distant past. It was impossible to track them to the asteroid they used. You needed a scan team look at the unique characteristics of every rock. Since we needed to take the city for the war to end, there wasn't a lot of consideration on what those asteroids might hold.
