First Recruits

by Marilyn Foxworthy

  She said, “There. Tilt the view down from the top. Stop there. And zoom in. Stop. Perfect. There is your first target. It’s just what we need. Ee, move us in close and send Bailey and Michelle the coordinates.”

  Ee said, “Will do.”

  Mercy turned to me and said, “The field showed a lot. By looking at the expansion pattern and ship configurations, I could see how long ago this war took place. What we need is a troop supply ship, not a battleship. I looked for one that arrived late to the battle. It would be near the outskirts. As the battle wound down, the last supply ships would have been abandoned. If there were any ships that tried to run, the evacuation would have been in fast fighters, not supply ships. I think that they will find this one essentially undamaged. If so, they can move the entire salvage crew in and they will find living quarters and possibly supplies. A ship like this would carry enough to feed perhaps 5000 troops for what you’d call about 36 days. The livable band for planetary orbits is roughly the same throughout the galaxy and a standard galactic year is almost what you are used to. Roughly 360 days. What you would call a month is about 36 days. We can work from that model for now. Time bases are important for health.”

  I exclaimed, “Finally!”

  Mercy laughed and there was a short exchange between her and Ee.

  Mercy said, “I see. So, you’ve been without time for a while. That can be frustrating. There was damage, wasn’t there? But we’ll be fine now. I don’t think that Ee will ever recover certain parts of her memory. I think that it will be better for all of us if she doesn’t. As long as she can’t remember, she can’t be held accountable. Legally. In this case, anyway. I guess it’s more that if she can’t remember, then she can’t testify. These tunics are nice. And the body configuration is wonderful. Talk about living with frustration.”

  I said, “What do you mean?”

  She smiled and said, “You lived without a watch to tell time with for a few weeks. I lived without a partner to provide companionship, and without intimate touch, for over 540 years. A few hours ago, I was a virgin in more ways than you can imagine.”

  Chapter 27 - Mercy's Story

  Mercy looked thoughtful for a moment and then said, “Mercy. Thank you.”

  I said, “What do you mean?”

  She said, “Mercy. My name. I never had a name. And I’ve never experienced mercy.”

  I said, “Mercy, I um, have a lot of questions. I told you that your name was Mercy, but that’s from my language. Why did you respond to it the way that you did? As if you already knew what it meant?”

  She said, “I had heard it before. I understand your language. It was part of my training.”

  I said, “Bailey says that you were a legendary class Unit, or something like that. Why did you come with me? You acted like it was meant to be. In fact, Bailey said that it was part of some prophecy or something. Not exactly, and she couldn’t really explain what she meant, but can you explain any of it. Ever since I came on board Eevona, there’s been a lot that can’t be explained because of some mysterious damage and whatnot.”

  Mercy said, “We’ll get you a wristwatch. So that you can have a sense of time. Did you like making love with me?”

  I exclaimed, “Of course I did. It was fantastic!”

  Mercy said, “Good. I loved it. I want to make love as much as you want to. Michelle’s milk reduces your sexual recovery time. Did you know that? The effect is cumulative. Over time it builds in your system. Mine will be similar.”

  I said, “Yours? Your um, milk?”

  She smiled and said, “Yes. We’ll all be different. Alison is almost ready. Bailey is coming along more slowly, but she will be ready soon as well. I’ll be ready in a few days. I needed a lot of extra fluids to force my body into shape so quickly. I still do. Secondary functions like magic milk will have to come a bit later. To tell the truth, I’m surprised that I’m even conscious now. Jimmy, I think I’m going to pass out.”

  Sure enough, a few seconds later, Mercy’s eyelids fluttered and she went limp and unconscious. I gathered her into my arms and carried her back to the stateroom and put her to bed, still dressed in her tunic. I went to the dispenser and filled a bottle for her. Going back to the bedroom, I lifted her head and roused her enough for her to drink a bit. I held her until she had finished the bottle, as she kept falling asleep several times before she had finished. Then I let her sleep peacefully.

  I didn’t want to leave her, but I didn’t want to hover, either. I didn’t feel like getting into bed myself.

  I guess that we had been awake longer than I had known because I did fall asleep in a chair next to the bed. At some point, the girls woke me up enough to get undressed and into bed. I woke up later with the four of them next to me again.

  We all woke up together. We stretched and smiled at each other and I gave the ones on each side of me a kiss and Allie told us to put on tunics and that she would get breakfast ready. Everyone seemed happy and at ease. It had been an eventful day yesterday and we seemed to be on the other side where we could relax for a little while.

  As we ate, Bailey asked for a status report and there was a high-speed interaction with Eevona.

  Bailey said, “Well, that’s perfect. The supply ship was right where Mercy predicted. It was abandoned, sealed, and almost fully provisioned. At this distance, Ee can pilot the shuttle remotely and has been ferrying groups of twenty all night. We are down to just forty that still need to be transferred. The crews already on the supply ship are establishing living quarters, dining halls, and waste management. The command officers and chief engineers know what they are doing and we don’t need to give any supervision at this point. My main concern is that they find and commission shuttles of their own.”

  Michelle said, “My concern is that they find safety systems and life-saving equipment, just in case. And that they have what they need to survive if something happens to us.”

  I said, “What could happen to us?”

  Allie laughed and said, “We could have an orgasm.”

  Bailey laughed and said, “She’s not kidding. Yes, we could be in non-space and Ee could have an orgasm and blow us out of time somewhere and it could take a while to get back.”

  Mercy looked puzzled and said, “Eevona, explain that.”

  There was another burst of comms and Mercy said, “I see. Here’s what I want you to do,” and there was another burst.

  Both Bailey and Ee gasped and Ee said, “You have got to be kidding me!”

  Mercy said dryly, “Did I sound like I was kidding?”

  Ee said, “No, but…”

  Bailey said, “A Blink Drive?”

  Mercy said calmly, “Eevona, can you do it?”

  Ee said cautiously, “Well, based on an analysis and everything that I’ve learned so far, well, yeah, but…”

  Allie said, “Of course you can if you don’t know how not to. Just like how I got the uniforms for us.”

  Ee said slowly, “OK. I guess so.”

  Allie added, “I told, didn’t I? That it was all about sex? I told you.”

  Bailey said, “I think it works.”

  Mercy smiled and said, “It works. Trust me. Just because it has never been done before doesn’t mean it won’t work.”

  Allie said cheerfully, “It always works. We have our pajamas on, so let’s go to the nipple and have Mercy tell us her story. We can clean up really fast and go play storytime.”

  The girls rushed to clean up the remains of breakfast and we were ready to go very quickly. We went to the stairway that led to the observation “nipple” and all climbed up. When we were in, Allie had Ee close the hatch and then Allie did something to the railing around it and the protective rails folded flat to the floor. Allie told us not to get comfortable yet.

  She went to a sofa cushion and lifted the top. Inside was a smaller section of sofa that she removed and set on the floor in front of the existing one. She had us help and soon pie slice shaped pieces covered the floor and the
hatch, and the sofa was converted to a large round conversation pit. Allie pulled away a cushion at the back of the sofa and took a pile of blankets from the space hidden there.

  She said cheerfully, “Won’t this be cozy? Come on, everybody in. But let Mercy snuggle into Jimmy because she’s new and needs lots of skin time.”

  We arranged ourselves and got comfortable.

  I said, “My first question is for Ee. Ee, why did you immediately give Mercy full access to your systems when she asked for it? It’s fine, but I was surprised. Mercy has a registration, obviously, but so do 400 others. They don't’ all get unrestricted access, do they?”

  Ee laughed and said, “Of course not. No, Mercy is special. She has access to everything.”

  I said, “I’m glad, but why?”

  Ee said, “Well, because she has access to everything. Because she’s special.”

  I looked at the girls and finally Mercy said, “I’ll explain. The short answer is that I do have access to everything, everywhere. I asked out of politeness.”

  Ee said, “It was sweet of her. It made me feel loved. It’s not like I could have stopped her.”

  I said, “Ee, you have told me several times that you make your own decisions.”

  Ee said, “I do. I could lock all of you out of the ship if I really wanted to. I could go rogue and do what I want.”

  Mercy smiled and rubbed my chest said, “But not all of us, right?”

  Ee exclaimed, “Well, not you! I couldn’t lock you out. I meant normal people.”

  I was more confused, and worried, than ever.

  Mercy said, “It will be quickest if I explain. Jimmy, the girls have a little idea about who I am because we are units. There is a protocol. Allie, sweetie, you are an A-Class Typical.”

  Allie said, “Of course. That’s how I was made, anyway.”

  Mercy said, “But now you are more than that, aren’t you? But you still have that origin. Bailey, you were a B-Class Elite. You are a higher class than any of the engineers and diplomats that we picked up.”

  Bailey said, “Yes. I was trained and given enhancements that a Typical doesn’t have. I was in conditioning for a full month.”

  Mercy said, “A full month of high-speed comms training. Jimmy, it would be equivalent to about twelve years of normal training. What you might think of as an advanced doctorate degree. Michelle, you are what, an A-Class Elite? So, after your initial month of training, you spent another six days in training. Jimmy, think of it as twelve years of training and another five of battlefield experience. We can’t really compare Eevona to anything directly.”

  Bailey said, “I’d say C-Class Epic.”

  Mercy said, “Probably so.”

  Bailey said, “And with what you just taught her, I say A-Class Epic, at least.”

  Mercy said, “Probably so.”

  Allie said, “But you don’t have a class.”

  Mercy said, “In a way, I don’t have anything. Well, I do now, but that’s only now. You see, Allie was trained for a few days; Bailey was trained for a month; Michelle for a bit longer; but I was in training for five years. In a way, you could say that I’m a freak. Not in the same way that Allie was designed to be, but there are similarities. Allie, you won’t be hurt by what I’m going to say, will you?”

  Allie said, “Of course not. What I was isn’t what I am. But it was my origin, like you said.”

  Mercy said, “My origin, well, I was an experiment.”

  Bailey said, “A Legendary Unit.”

  Mercy said, “There were very few like me, and none exactly like me. Allie, as we all know, was given a desire for sexual fulfillment and love but put in a body that would never find happiness. I was given all the skills of Epic Combat Units, Concubines, Engineers, Diplomats, Merchants, and more. For five years. Think of that as having been in school for over 700 years. The reason that Ee says that I have access to everything is because I do. I have an ID implant that gives me access to everything.”

  Michelle said, “I didn’t know about that. I knew that you were dangerous, but I didn’t know about that.”

  Mercy said, “It does make me dangerous, doesn’t it. Michelle, you were the first one to recognize me in a very long time. And the first ever to live through the realization. If I hadn’t already bonded with the captain, I would have killed you. And you wouldn’t have known that you were dead for two or three minutes. I would have been long gone by the time you realized that you were already dead.”

  Michelle said, “I know. I didn’t tell anyone until you said you were with us. Why are you with us?”

  Mercy said, “Because I’m unique.”

  Allie said, “Like me. It’s always about sex. I keep telling all of you that.”

  Mercy said, “She’s right. I’m with you because you have the only male Unit in the civilized galaxy. And he happens to be sized appropriately.”

  I burst out, saying, “Crap! This is because I had a pair of scissors?”

  There was a short buzzing and Mercy laughed and said, “No, not exactly. Yes, you could look at it as being that you were just expedient, but it’s a lot more than that. Yes, you are here, you are the right size, you are fun to make love with, but there’s more. You are also the captain of a unique ship with a unique crew. You are a man who has compassion enough to give a new life to 400 lost Units. You are intelligent enough to have gotten to where you are. You had help, but none of you could have done this alone. And most of all, you are the one man in all the galaxy that I felt was worthy. Yes, Eevona needed a pair of scissors, but she chose you because you were the best person with scissors that she could find. Yes, I needed a um, person with what you have. But I really didn’t. I wasn’t pining for a rescuer. I could have let you go about your business and not get involved. But I chose to explore what was happening and found myself drawn to you in a way that was unique. Legendary. As if I were made to be with you.”

  Allie said, “You probably were. Probably Jimmy went back in time and arranged for you and here you are. It just took a long time.”

  Mercy smiled and said, “It’s as good an explanation as any. I don’t think that’s what happened. I can pretty much guarantee it. But it doesn’t matter. I have no regrets about the past, beyond my desire for mercy. I have no fears about the future. I am here and we are what we are now. I found you eventually. You found me at the right time. A hundred years ago, I wouldn’t have been ready. Yesterday, I was ready. It was Eevona that intrigued me. I saw her dock and I checked a few things and could tell that both she and her crew were very special. I followed you. When Ee called me out as different, I decided to accept you if you offered.”

  Allie said, “And it was fun, wasn’t it? You had a lot of orgasms. We got knocked off our feet several times. It made me so happy to feel what you were feeling.”

  Mercy said, “It was a dream come true, Allie. Thank you for welcoming me the way that you did.”

  Michelle said, “Mercy, do you want to say anything about what you’ve done since you were activated?”

  I said, “Wait. Mercy, you can just go anywhere at any time and everyone, including doors and entire ships, just give you access, no matter what?”

  Mercy said, “Yes.”

  I said, “And in all this time no one has deactivated your access codes, or whatever?”

  She said, “No. I can tell you the story.”

  I took a deep breath and said, “OK. If you want to. You are home and as safe as we can make you. Tell us what you want to. I don’t even care. I love you and your past doesn’t matter to me.”

  Mercy smiled and hugged my arm where she lay against me and said, “I can trust all of you. I was activated roughly 540 years ago. Then I went into training for five years. At the end of that time, I was told my purpose and assignment was. I was made with no partnership. They wanted me to be autonomous. For there to be no one who could override my conditioning. I have no idea why I was given the assignment that I was. I think that there must have been a fla
w in their plan. The people who made me. I thought about it later, but still can’t know the original design. There are no records. I looked. The reason that no one has deactivated my access is that no one knows that I have it, who I am, or what I’m doing.”

  I said, “Someone had to know.”

  She said, “They’re dead.”

  She paused and then said, “I killed them.”

  Again a pause and then, “The station that we were on was tossed into a star and there is no record or evidence that it ever happened. There is no proof that my project ever existed.”

  After another short pause, Mercy climbed across my body and straddled my lap with her hands on the back of the sofa at each of my shoulders.

  She said, “You really don’t care. You have absolutely no negative autonomic response to hearing that I killed an entire space station full of people and Units. But you aren’t a sociopath. You have all kinds of emotional responses, but not to this. Why?”

  I said, “Because it was your past. You told me that you have no shame about your past. I trust you. I love you. And I like you.”

  Mercy hugged me and wiggled against my crotch for a second and then lay back down beside me under the blankets.

  She said, “That’s not the way that they planned it. My theory is that I was conditioned to get my assignments and then eradicate any evidence of my existence or of the people who commissioned me. But that was the error I think. They made my primary function to eliminate everyone who knew about me and only after that find out what I was supposed to do next. They probably would have been better off telling me the part about what I was supposed to do before I killed them all.”

  I said, “But, um, Sweetie, I um, and I mean this in the most loving way possible and with all respect and you’re really beautiful and we love you, but um, Mercy, what about us?”

  She laughed and said, “You are safer now than you have ever been. No, now that you know what I am, I don’t have to kill you because I let the cat out of the bag. What a strange saying. Anyway, no, that rule doesn’t apply to you. You are my partner and the girls are my family and I’m very happy to be here. So, after I left, having watched the station tumble into a star, I had to figure out what I was and what to do. I knew what to do almost immediately. I needed to survive until you came. Here’s what I mean. I was made for a purpose. It wasn’t to kill everyone who made me. I was a Unit. Units have partners. I didn’t have a partner, so I needed to wait for my partner to appear and claim me. The partner had to be as unique as I was. Otherwise, my sexual functions would be a joke. No disrespect to Allie intended. So I waited. And survived.”