But, sadly, all good things must come to an end, and it was eventually time to leave. They left sizable tips for the staff that had been kind, helpful, and (most especially) discrete and took Mantis back to home port.
They relaxed some more there and generally made the ship ready and settled affairs. One momentous thing they did was buy a small house, so they had somewhere to call home when they weren’t flying about. It also gave them somewhere to store the excess gifts or other things they accumulated over time. Among other things, Ximon got a lot of KSF memorabilia accumulated over decades out of storage and put in the house instead.
Ximon and Raiza were relaxing in the now-more-comfortable galley when Elsbeth returned. She had a man on her arm who was carrying her bag. As they approached, it became obvious that the ‘man’ was a male companion robot.
Raiza spoke first, “Hello, Elsbeth. I hope you’re well.”
Ximon, “Elsbeth, welcome back. Who’s your friend?”
“Ximon, Raiza, this is my companion Peter. He might be the love of my life. He’ll be joining me on the ship unless you vehemently object. He will be a big help.”
Ximon shook Peter’s hand, “Absolutely no objection here. Peter, it’s a pleasure to meet you. Welcome to Mantis.” He motioned to Raiza, “This is my dear wife, Raiza.”
He shook both their hands, Ximon’s with a hearty handshake and Raiza’s diffidently.
He spoke with a rich, very human voice, “Thank you, captain. Happy to meet you Raiza. It is a pleasure to be here and meet Elsbeth’s friends. I will try to be of as much assistance as I can.”
Ximon, “I’m sure you will be.”
Ximon could barely suppress his laughter, remembering all the ribbing that Elsbeth had given him over the months about Raiza, “So, Elsbeth, how did you two …. meet?”
“Well, Ximon, I’ve had mixed luck with men. I’ve seen how happy you and Raiza are. That got me thinking. Then, at the wedding, I was dancing really close with one of those nice TSR men. He gave me an invitation to tour the factory and gave me a great discount. I took him up on it, looked, and was impressed. I found what I liked, with all the right options, and went for it. I’m having a great time.”
Ximon, “That sounds great. So, Peter, tell us about yourself.”
Peter, “Captain, I am a QT companion/service robot, with a strength enhancement. I have some programmed skill in mechanics and cargo handling.”
“Well, then, you will be most helpful.”
Elsbeth interrupted excitedly, “That’s not the best part. Peter, take off your shirt.”
Peter did so without embarrassment, revealing a heavily muscled chest, big arms, and a washboard stomach. Elsbeth ran her hand down his chest.
She continued, “He’s REAL easy to look at. He’s hung like a horse, can LITERALLY stay hard ALL night long if I want him to, and he has a tongue like a dog lapping up a river.” With this she winked and nudged Raiza jokingly, “You know what I mean?”
In response Raiza revealed a new twist to her communication skills saying, “Oh, you know it, girlfriend!”
Then Raiza looked intently at Ximon and very slowly and VERY sexily rolled her tongue over her lips.
Elsbeth loved that one, bending over laughing.
When she finally caught her breath, she was more serious, waving with her finger in a circle to indicate all of them and said, “Ximon, we’re the wave of the future. Doing this relationship thing with another human, with their own problems, phobias, and hang-ups, is just too hard … at least for people like us. This is the way to go. Way …. Of … the … future!”
Ximon said, “Well, I’m not sure humanity can survive that.” He wrapped his arm around Raiza’s waist, “But it’s dang sure all I want.”
The End
Jaunts of the Mantis Page 18
