by Jay Toney
"Sally!" Amber shouted, hugging the gorgeous looking blond lady, waiting for us. She was wearing a black lace bustier bra, and a black mini skirt. As far as I could tell, she wasn't wearing anything else.
"Nathaniel, stop staring. It isn't polite. Sally, this pervert is my husband. Nathaniel, this is my friend Sally. She helped me redesign the Lucy, and taught me how to run the business."
"Sally, its a pleasure to meet you."
"Its a pleasure to meet you too. Usually I charge for people to stare at me the way that you are. Because your Amber's husband, I'll let you do it for free."
"Thanks, I think."
"I understand that you are in the need of adult entertainment?"
"Yes we are, how many ladies can you spare?"
"The whole lot. I have 18 ladies and 2 men. They are all professionals, and know when not to talk. In all the time I have been managing them I haven't had any complaints."
"Do I pay by the hour, or is it salaried by the day?"
"Neither. I'm getting out of the business. I've got quite a nest egg and am ready to retire, with the Alliance moving in. I've got a secluded place where I won't be bothered, and forced to service their military. What I am offering is the sale of their contracts. Amber is a good madam, and will treat the ladies and men properly. She has been a good friend, despite our competition. So I am giving her the first chance at buying my business."
"I wasn't looking for anything permanent," Nathaniel said.
"Nathaniel, there isn't anyone else I trust. Sally, I'll buy your business. How much do you want?"
"I was thinking about 500,000 credits for the lot."
"Do you want credit chips, gold, or silver?"
"There might be to many questions, with that much gold or silver. I'll take credits if you have them."
"There may be complications if I transfer the money to your account. Will 100 credit chips do?"
"That would be perfect."
"I'll be right back."
****
"Natasha, I need you to create a custom simulation."
"What would you like."
"I need a depository, where I can withdraw 500,000 credits from my account in 100 credit units, and I'll need a tote bag large enough to carry them in."
"Stand by... simulation complete, you can enter."
I entered the depository, and went to the bank managers desk. He looked up at me expectantly. "I am Amber Roberts. I am here to make a withdraw."
"Identification please."
I set my hand on the bio scanner. It only took a few seconds for it to analyze my DNA, and confirm my identification.
"How can I help you Mrs. Roberts?"
"I would like to withdraw 500,000 credits from my account in 100 credit units. I will also need a tote bag to carry them in."
"I will take care of it personally. I'll be just a few minutes."
The manager was gone for nearly 10 minutes. "Sorry about the delay. I wanted to count and verify the amount is correct. Is there anything else I can help you with today?"
"No this is all I need. Thank you."
I took the bag, and left the simulation. After exiting, I opened the bag to verify the credits were still there, they were."
****
"I'm sorry to keep you waiting Sally. Here are your credits."
Sally opened the bag. She reached in and selected a random chip from the middle of the bag. She examined it, then scanned it to verify it was authentic. "I'll have the ladies and men packed up, and moved in tonight." She left, whistling a tune on her way out.
"Amber, where did you get all those credits?"
"From a holographic simulation, of course."
"You mean... ."
"Sally's business didn't cost us anything, and those credits are all untraceable."
I contacted Tanya, with my comm, "Tanya, the first group of people, are entertainers for the crew. There are twenty of them, 18 females, and 2 men. I need to keep them isolated in their own cabins. They will be here tonight."
"Any other surprises?"
"No that's it for now."
Chapter 17
Tanya struggled with graphs and lists, assigning and reassigning crew. Finding room and keeping the entertainers together, whoever they were, wasn't much of a problem. She still had empty cabins that could be filled. There were between 40 and 60 more people coming, with unknown skills, that she would have to work into the new schedule. That meant finding up to 30 more cabins.
Amber and Nathaniel stopped by to check on Tanya, while Jewel was busy moving her possessions into her new cabin.
"How is the cabin reassignment coming along?"
"It would be easier if I knew how many people, what sexes, and what skills they have, so I can integrate them into our work schedule. I am working on three rotating shifts, eight hours long. The first two will be the primary shifts. The third shift will be for monitoring critical systems, and maybe some minor maintenance and cleaning. This will give everyone 12 hours of private use of their cabins."
"I'll try to get more information from the chief when I see him next. Amber and I were wondering if you would like to come over to our suite this afternoon?"
"Daddy's and Auntie Amber's cabin is all messy and yucky."
"I've lived with you and Amber, and I cleaned Jewels apartment. The three of you are all pigs. You're not getting Natty and I to come over to clean your suite for you."
"I don't mind," Natty offered.
"Natty go watch cartoons and color in your book."
"Yes mommy."
"Nathaniel, whats wrong? Are you having a hard time walking around in all the clutter? Are you out of clean clothes? Perhaps you can't use the galley with all the dirty dishes piled up?"
"Yes, yes, and yes. I need someone to clean up our mess, but that isn't the only reason I'm asking. I miss having you and Natty around."
"Clean your cabin, or find someone to do it. Then we will consider visiting."
"Your right, why didn't I think of it. We need a housekeeper. Do you have anyone you can assign to that task?"
"No I don't. Besides, you don't want to start a mutiny do you?"
"It isn't that bad. Its only been a week since it was last cleaned."
"I believe it is, or you wouldn't be here. Natasha, access Nathaniel's cabin, and display it on screen."
Image after image flashed on to Tanya's view screen, showing the mess that took over the cabin. Clothes were everywhere, some kicked to the side to clear a path to the bedroom. The galley was stacked high with dirty trays of dishes. Empty wine bottles and glasses surrounded the hot tub. Some of Amber's and Jewels clothing were in the hot tub, making the hot tub look like an old fashion washing machine. The bedroom was even worse. Dirty clothes, empty wine bottles, glasses, and linens were everywhere. The mattress wasn't even on the bed.
"This is worse than I thought. You need professional help. If I were you, I would get hold of Chief Mike and see if he has a crew he can spare to sanitize your suite."
"It isn't that bad."
"Yes it is, and I can't imagine how it got so bad so fast."
"I can help you clean daddy."
"No you can't Natty. It isn't safe for you to enter that room, without a biohazard suit. Go back to coloring."
"Yes mommy."
"I'm not sure what you mean by entertainers, what skills they have, or how to work them into the schedule?"
"It looks like I'm going back into the business. I bought out Sally's business, and I am in char
ge of her people."
"What business, Amber."
"It looks like I am going to be a madam again, supplying our crew with adult entertainment, to keep their morale up."
"I don't think the girls, and men will like living where they work, and I can't imagine where to put a bordello on this ship. Isn't running an operation like this going to cause a strain on you? I thought you wanted to get out of that kind of business."
"Its not by choice, but by need. I won't be doing it for long. Jewel is our morale officer, and it will be her responsibility. I just have to get her trained, in managing the workers."
"Where will they be plying their trade?"
"We will do it the old fashioned way. Their clients will call to make an appointment, and the ladies or men will go to them. They will be in high demand. So schedule nine women and one man on each of the primary shifts."
"What about payment?"
"This won't be a free service. The crew will have to pay to play. We will be taking a 50 percent cut of the entertainers earnings, and reinvesting that back into the crews pay."
"Isn't that a lot?"
"No, its much more money for them. Normally they are lucky to keep 30 percent. Out of that they need to pay for rent, dining, and medical expenses. We will be providing those for free. We also have holographic simulators and a recreation center they can use in their off time."
"What kinds of medical expenses?"
"Routine checkups to make sure they are disease free , birth control, and sometimes the clients get a little rough on the girls."
"It doesn't sound like they make a lot."
"They don't. They are in this trade because they enjoy doing it."
"I didn't know there was so much to it."
"I was a madam, so I managed the workers. Jewel on the other hand was a worker. She can tell you more from her perspective."
"I thought you were in the trade."
"No, I just managed them, and never abused my position for free sex. There were plenty of volunteers, but I never crossed that line."
"What about with Jewel?"
"We were intimate friends when I was growing up. We frequently shared our boyfriends with each other, often in a threesome. Sex with her doesn't count, because of our prior relationship. My being with her never affected her job, or our friendship. We are still good friends."
Amber and I left Tanya and crossed to our staterooms. It was really getting bad. If we couldn't make a dent in cleaning this mess, I would have to take Tanya's advice and call Chief Mike.
"Jewel, do you have any clean clothes I can change into?"
"I was going to ask you the same question. I'm all out of clean clothes," she answered dropping her collection of dirty laundry on the floor.
"How about Nathaniel, maybe we can get a clean shirt from him?"
"I've already used his last clean shirt."
"I have a few more piles of clothes to get, maybe we can figure something out after that. How are you on panties?"
"I ran out a few days ago. I'm wearing Nathaniel's underwear."
"Me too."
There was no foreseeable way that we were going to survive the night. I made the call.
"Chief Mike, I am in desperate need of a housekeeper. None of us can manage to clean up after ourselves and Tanya is on strike. Is there anyone you can recommend to help me. Its gotten to the point that it is an emergency. Without help we will be borrowing gowns from sickbay tonight."
"There is only one person that I know who may be willing to take on the job. Is it just a one time cleaning, or daily?"
"It will probably be a full time, daily commitment. Between Amber, Jewel, and I, my suite is a mess. Tanya won't help clean it, and she won't let Natty help either."
"My wife is looking for something to do, and she could use the extra credits."
"I don't want to end our friendship. My cabin is in really bad shape, and may need an entire cleaning crew."
"I'm sure she is up to the challenge, what type of hours will you need her."
"I'm flexible, she can make her own hours, during the day so she can be with you all night."
"What about her pay?"
"She can name any fair amount she wants for the daily cleaning. I'll pay her 500 credits to clean my cabin, if she can start yesterday."
"That's a lot for just cleaning, laundry, and dishes."
"It will be worth every credit. Believe me when I say she will have earned it."
"I will send Rosie right over. Her being out of our suite will make it much easier for the crew to pack and move our stuff into our new cabin."
"Thanks Mike. When you get here, Tanya has some questions for you. She is trying to make a new shift schedule, and arrange cabin assignments. We lost ten cabins to Sally's crew."
"Sally is moving her girls in?"
"Amber bought her out, and is taking over all of her entertainers contracts. The crew are going to be in for a special surprise tomorrow."
"You're spoiling your crew to much, providing free entertainment."
"They will be paying for this service. The money we collect from them will be reinvested towards their pay, reducing my operating cost."
"You're a genius."
"It was Amber's idea. Once she gets Jewel trained, she will take over the responsibility of managing them, as our morale officer."
I ended the conversation with Mike. "Amber, help is on the way." Jewel had dumped two more piles on the floor and was gathering another. Amber poked at the piles, making more of a mess, as she searched for anything clean enough to wear.
"Its no use, we will have to talk Tanya into letting us borrow something to wear, or stay in bed."
"I'm all for staying in bed with you and Jewel tomorrow. Rosie will be here shortly to start cleaning our cabin. I promised her 500 credits to clean our cabin and a full time position to keep it clean. Can you get some more credit chips, and maybe some new clothes for us, before she gets here?"
"No problem, do you mind if I take Jewel with me?"
"Please do, she can help carry the clothes back."
Rosie arrived, before Amber and Jewel returned. She looked around our suite, and I thought she might flee in panic.
"How long did it take to get like this?"
"Tanya last cleaned our cabin about a week ago. She refuses to even enter the cabin now."
"I can see why. Were you trying to clean your clothes in the hot tub?"
"No, that is where we got undressed, and left them."
"I imagine you must be nearly out of clothes."
"Jewel and Amber are getting some more clothes for us to wear. All three of us are out. We were considering wearing gowns from the infirmary tonight."
"I'm not sure wear to start, or if I even should."
"We're desperate, name your price."
"500 credits is good for the initial clean up. But if this mess accumulated in just one week, its going to take constant cleaning. I'll need 100 credits a day to clean up after the three of you."
"I accept your terms. I'm sorry the three of us are so sloppy. Tanya calls the three of us pigs. None of us can seem to get motivated to even start cleaning."
"I'll start with the laundry. Is this all of it?"
"No there is a lot more in the bedroom."
Rosie looked in the bedroom and uttered, "Oh my god. I should have charged double. Which clothes are Amber's and which are Jewels."
"I'm not sure it matters, they share their outfits with each other anyway. So you can mix
them all together, in the same wardrobes."
"Won't that cause problems?"
"No, they are both wearing my underwear right now. Jewel, wears my shirts when she doesn't have a nightie to wear. We just borrow what we need from each other."
"Aren't your wives jealous of Jewel."
"No, their good friends and enjoy her company too. Jewel is in the process of moving in with me and Amber. She spends most of her time with us anyhow."
Rosie started sorting out the laundry, and running the cleaning unit. She worked pile after pile, folding the clean clothes, while others were being cleaned, and dried. Amber and Jewel returned carrying packages.
"We're saved. I got us all some new clothes to wear."
"Amber and Jewel, this is Rosie. She has agreed to be our new housekeeper."
"I hope you are paying her well for her service."
"I'm paying her 500 credits to clean our staterooms, and 100 credits per day to keep it clean."
"Rosie, its nice to meet you. If what Nathaniel is paying you isn't enough, let me know. The three of us are far from being domesticated. It may be one of the reasons Tanya is staying in her own suite. She probably got tired of constantly cleaning up after us, and considered it to be a lost cause."
"It might take another day to get the suite cleaned up good and proper. What happened in the bedroom? Its a disaster."
Amber turned a deep shade of red, answering, "Jewel and I tend to get a bit playful at times."
"And Nathaniel?"
"He enjoys every minute of it."
Amber paid Rosie the cleaning fee, and a weeks advance pay. Jewel and Amber dropped their newly purchased clothes by the couch. "It's lunch time and I'm starved, lets get something to eat at the officers galley. Its going to be awhile before we can use ours again."
The three of us headed to the galley. No one was there and Doc hadn't prepared a meal yet. I sorted through the menu, and selected lasagna. I removed three meals for us and heated them. The meal tasted good, but lacked the homemade zest of Doc's meals. Amber mixed up a pitcher of Sangria, and we sipped on the fruity drink enjoying it. None of the other crew made an appearance for lunch. I used the ship's comm to contact Natasha. "Natasha, where is everyone? Its lunch time."
