7 comments/ 7116 views/ 1 favorites Pilot 06: Animals By: past_perfect Animals By past_perfect © Author's note: Not all of you would want to read the whole series. For those who don't, here a short summary of what has happened so far: Jon was an English RAF pilot during WWII. In 1943 a race called Scnrgsis recruited him for the forces of the galactic community, which was facing an extra-galactic enemy called the Pret. Sixty-six years later Jon crashed on Earth following a battle with the Pret, having aged just about seven years due to a medical implant of the Scnrgsis. He hijacked a space shuttle to get to a station of the Scnrgsis on the dark side of the moon. Whilst waiting for his "Mother"-ship Snay, together with Emma's "hand", the last remaining android from his destroyed ship Emma, he recounted his training on Talagon. The Pret were contained by a barrier the most advanced race in our galaxy – the Salarmorn – had erected. What went on behind this barrier was virtually unknown, until the first missions of the Snay. In the last adventures Jon discovered that there was an active resistance against the Pret on Soreil and on Dawnmaker, a small but crucial moon around Daria, where an entity called Life battled the dark master behind the Pret, the Ta'baka'ta. Chapter one – The human experience The news I got from the galactic network and Mother were anything but good. The Pret had advanced further and according to our scout ships were poising their forces to strike again. It'd be another day before the Snay picked me up from the moon, where only Emma's hand kept me company, while my mind used the downtime to reflect on the key moments of the war as I had experienced them. "Was it strange for you to be amongst humans again, Jon?" "Yes, kind of. Well, we did meet a few others along our way, and of course the human descendents, like the Turrans, the Pipers, the Harkans ..." The Harkans. The Harkans were human descendents that had been overrun during the first incursions of the Pret. We visited their planet not long after the Dawnmaker adventure. Yet another incident that was burned indelibly into my memory. --- Quila made disapproving faces in the mirroring surfaces of the Snay's medical bay. They had done quite a job on us. Our appearance had been altered to allow us to blend in with the population on Harkas, the planet where our current mission had led us to. Our orange skin colour did indeed take some getting used to. Quila's and Emma's hair had been coloured black; my brown didn't need an adjustment as that colour was prevalent there too. The last member of our little group I then met for the first time. In fact, she was the first human woman I saw since I left Earth. Her name was Tamara, a Russian who had apparently joined the forces of the galactic community years before me and was posted on the Snay specifically for this mission. Apart from getting her name during a brief introduction, I knew next to nothing about her, as I hadn't had the chance to read her file yet. "I don't like this colour. It makes me look like a cartoon character." "Nonsense, Quila. You look smashing. I bet the Harkan women will be all over you." "Phht." Earth cartoons were actually quite popular in the galactic community - some were even shown in the original 2D, the majority enhanced. Not much else got fed into the network from Earth at the time, though. "What do you think, Tamara?" "I think you are both wasting our time with these irrelevancies. We have less than twenty minutes before we are scheduled to leave." Quila tilted his head slightly and looked up and down on her, provocatively lingering on her tits and crotch. "Now I know why you were so eager to leave your planet Jon. Your women are just too much fun." "Let's not get off on the wrong foot here immediately; we have a long enough trip ahead of us and ample opportunity to get to know and appreciate each other. Let's go to Emma and maybe you tell us a bit about yourself, Tamara. Did I understand that right? You have been with the forces for ten years now?" "Yes. My last posting was on the Essar. I am one of the seven survivors." "Did you meet many other humans in the community yet?" "No, you are actually the first one ever. You are English, aren't you? I'm from St. Petersburg in the USSR. Hmm. You both haven't been on Harkas yet, have you?" "No. But from the tone of your voice I gather you have?" "Yes. I found the Harkans pretty disagreeable. A totalitarian medieval society with a violent temper. But now that they are under Pret occupation, they are potential allies." We had reached Emma and I showed both of them their quarters. We departed from Mother right on schedule and reached the planet some seven hours later. The reason for this slow approach was that the Pret had still not found a way to scan through our cloaks, but they had found a way to scan for us shifting. We had lost three kids to that fact and the traps the Pret had prepared for us. "Now we look positively silly." We wore the customary Harkan attire. Unfortunately, Quila was right this time. What we'd been provided with resembled ancient Greek or Roman attire, sandals going up to the knee and short skirt-like tunics, cut to a V to let our heroic chests show. Tamara and Emma's hand wore the same, just had an additional inch of ribbon barely covering their nipples. Tamara had a fabulous chest, as I had noticed earlier already and the body to match. Quila was apparently more fascinated by Emma's hand and I have to admit, she did look absolutely riveting. Even the nauseating pastel blue we were forced to wear couldn't overturn that impression. The Harkans were in their blue phase at the time. "Jon, can you tell your android to quit staring at me? It is making me nervous." "I wasn't staring, I was observing. You are the first Earth woman I met and I am building a reference database." "Whatever for?" "Solely for my personal use. I want Jon to feel at home when he is with me." "That is a lovely thought sweetie, but if Tamara doesn't like you observing her ..." "She doesn't seem to mind you staring at her, specifically at her bosom." I exchanged a quick embarrassed look with Tamara, who displayed a hint of a smile. Quila jumped right in. "Yes Emma, that is a mystery, especially since your tits are so much nicer." "Thank you Quila; that is kind of you to say. We have landed. Matter sluice activated." We had been vested with contact lenses to countermand the insanely bright blue-whitish light of the blue dwarf Harkas was circling. Harkas had two suns; a blue dwarf and a yellow star similar to Sol, albeit slightly bigger. Those two added up to nineteen hours of daylight and a night of only seven and a half hours. The yellow star was still below the horizon. It was really warm already; from the information we got about the planet, it would get quite hot during the next hours, temperatures over a hundred. We were lucky though, since we had arrived in winter. We landed in a savannah reasonably far away from the nearest habitation. The Harkans had a pre-industrial agrarian society, nevertheless it seemed safer to have Emma in orbit rather than remaining on her landing spot, cloaked or not. From what we had gathered, the Pret were mainly present in the handful of larger towns on the planet. We came across a fortified road we had planned to follow to get to the nearest smaller one. Soon the road led into more fertile areas with large fields of grain and meadows with herds of large, apparently domesticated animals, which looked like a cross between a hippo and a boar, with eight legs. After a few minutes of uneventful travelling we saw the first Harkans working in the fields, loading bundles of grain onto a large hovering antigrav platform that looked completely out of place in this rural setting. There was a Pret guard close by, resting in the shade of a tree, whilst getting a blow job by one of the workers. Apparently our presence didn't arouse any suspicion, or that poor fellow half choking on its massive dick needed its undivided attention. In line with our resolve to keep a low profile we just marched past this scene. Our attention was soon diverted from what had looked like scarecrows from a distance, ironically circled by a large flock of birds. As we got closer, it became obvious that it was something much worse. Three Harkans had been killed and their mutilated bodies placed on wooden sticks. Their genitals were missing and I had a hunch that the birds feasting on them weren't responsible for that. "Fucking Pret. This is barbaric," Quila spat out to emphasize his sentiment. Tamara took some water out of her bag and watched him with an indefinable expression. "Babaric, yes. Pret handiwork, probably not. I told you, the Harkans were no angels before the Pret came. I have seen this type of stuff here before. The bird droppings are fertilising their fields." "What the ... are you serious?" "Yes, I am serious. The missing genitals could point to the Pret, but I bet it were Harkans putting up the bodies. They can be rather pragmatic." Quila shook himself as if trying to rid himself from that notion. "One of the first things we should do in town is barter for some swords and daggers at the local blacksmith's. We are likely to be challenged sooner or later, and wouldn't want to use our own weapons in public, unless we really have to. The Harkans are fond of copper and gold as I have learned on my previous visit. I brought enough to get by, but also make us a prime target for marauding robbers and ordinary thieves. I suspect the Pret occupation will have changed quite a few things, but I doubt it will have changed their greed or brutality." "Fascinating. So I suppose this is yet another experiment by the Scnrgsis that didn't quite pan out?" Tamara shook her head. "What they exhibit here and built their society on is within all human beings. Below the precious veneer of our civilisations we are still animals." "That is a rather pessimistic and cynical view of our kind, don't you think?" "Why, what's the difference? The Harkans kill each other with swords and daggers; on Earth they do it with tanks, bombs and guns." "We have lived peacefully for more than two thousand years on my planet, and we are of human descent also, so I don't think you can generalise there." I was glad that Quila jumped in, as I had trouble finding any serious argument against Tamara's position. Tamara's attention was diverted when we had reached the top of a hill from where we could see the town we were approaching already. From what we could see from our vantage point, there was no Pret garrison. The town was enclosed by a circular wall, and roads from all directions converged on corresponding gates. The large animals we had seen grazing earlier on were apparently used for drawing their vehicles too, low and wide wooden contraptions with rotating boles rather than wheels, which could have been due to the incredible speeds these animals were capable of. Large clouds of sand followed their approach to the town gates. "Okay. Try not to get into any fights, don't look anyone in the eye and just follow my lead. As we are going to be in a town, it is customary that the men walk behind the women. The appropriate distance is two to three yards. If you feel compelled to stare at Harkan's chests, fight it, or you might end up on a stick too." "Why is that?" "Didn't you read any of information the strategic team provided? This is a matriarchal society. Here the women own the land and govern it too." "Actually, the team omitted that little titbit, as I read the whole thing. There is nothing of the kind in our engrams either. All it said was that it is pre-industrial and somewhat feudal." "I see. Well, you are in for quite a few surprises then. Quiet now, men aren't allowed to speak when following their mistresses." "Mistresses? What the ..." "Shut up, there are Harkan guards at the gate. I would have to flog you publically, if you don't comply." Quila swallowed and followed my example to cast down the eyes and let the girls take the lead. I wondered why the strategic team hadn't bothered to tell us such crucial details. Something was not quite adding up here. The guards were female, as I noticed with a quick furtive glance. Tamara told us to stop and approached them. They exchanged a few words and then some of Tamara's copper changed its owner. We were about to pass when one of them barred our way with her spear. I forced myself not to look up, as its point went down from my neck over my exposed chest down to my private parts. "Nice flesh. Make sure you share." "Naturally." The guard withdrew her spear and we were free to pass the gate into town. Chapter two – Women on top The town was small but teeming with activity and a restlessness I only ever observed in humans. We witnessed one of the public floggings Tamara had spoken of upon arrival at the marketplace of the town. A male Harkan was stripped naked, attached to the upper beam of what looked exactly like gallows with some heavy chains, and a very attractive Harkan woman whipped the shit out of him, cheered on by a crowd that seemingly got quite a kick out of it. A little to the left a group of armed guards shielded a palanquin, where a stunning brunette sat like on a throne. We appeared to have caught her attention too, as she instructed her bearers to move into our direction. I was not usually quick to judge people. However, in this instance I filed her under bitch even before she had uttered a single word. "I am gratified to see new flesh in this dullest of places in the southern estate. Sisters, I am Dinitria, portreeve of this town and welcome you here. I further honour you by allowing you to share your flesh with me." "We are honoured by your concession and will gladly share our flesh with you." Well, this was the point when I did feel a little violated, intrigued, but violated nevertheless. "You may follow us then." She turned her palanquin around and her guards opened a path through the crowd for her. I hissed into Tamara's ear, "What the fuck do you think you are doing?" "It is not a question of choice. Here it is advisable to accept authority and power, unless you want to end up on a stick. I've seen executions for lesser reasons than refusing something like this. Don't make such a fuss; I'm pretty sure you are going to enjoy it." Emma very lowly interjected, "Portreeve or not, if she hurts Jon in any way, I will kill her." "What are you on about? All four of us are going to do some serious fucking, no more, no less." "Oh? Well, that is acceptable then. Jon is fond of fucking. And I am too." "What do you mean? What did this pervert program you to do?" "He didn't do anything of the sort. I wanted to fuck him, and we did it. Seventy-eight times not including oral sessions. So there." "Hey my man, what kind of friend are you? You never told me anything about this." "Shut up, all of you. Watch where you're going." We had arrived at a large building, not particularly impressive from the outside, built with the same grey slab all the rest of the houses were. That rather humdrum impression changed immediately as we entered the interior. The hall we entered was made from something resembling polished marble, although its colour was ochre with light red sprinkles. There were white precious furs spread like rugs everywhere. The palanquin bearers lowered her mistress to the ground. "Welcome to my humble abode, sisters. You meet us at a time of great distress, as the off-world creatures are draining us of resources, slaves and grain. What region are you from, and why are you travelling by foot rather than coach?" "I am Tamara and this is Emma. We had an unfortunate encounter with some highway robbers several miles back. Our coach was destroyed and our animals flew during the fight. We are coming from the mountains of Elia." "I see. I am sure we could accommodate you with new transportation, if you are able to pay for it. What have you done with your weapons?" "They have been taken by the Pret creatures when we encountered one of their patrols. Let me repay you for your graciousness with this small token of our esteem." She took a piece of gold out of her bag and gave it to the guard next to her. Dinitria received it with obvious delight and gratitude. "Yes, the creatures are annoying, aren't they? They have robbed me of most of my best flesh. I hear they are meeting with some resistance in the Elia mountains? Is that why you are here? Looking for allies? Sit down please." I was about to follow her instruction also, but a quick glance by Tamara indicated that Quila and me weren't included in her offer. Three women appeared with large plates of food and drink, which again were only offered to the girls. "I am not at liberty to divulge that information. We would be very pleased if we could purchase some weapons and a coach from you, though. I am sure we could negotiate a fair trade." "Possibly. You must be sore and sweaty from your ordeal. Let us go to my atrium where my attendants will remedy that." She didn't seem to be overly miffed by Tamara's refusal to tell her more. I guess they had more or less arranged themselves with the Pret, who didn't seem to exert as much pressure here as they had on Soreil for instance, but maybe the situation was different in the larger towns where they had actual garrisons. Before I had thought that our mission to find allies was somewhat vague; now I got the impression that whatever our real mission was, Tamara was probably the only one that had been briefed fully, although I still had trouble understanding why. Okay, the fact that we were considered "flesh" and had to follow the local customs might have been something they omitted in order not to spoil the surprise or elicit a negative response by Quila and me, but again I had the distinct feeling that we had been left in the dark about other things for a good reason. The atrium was simply spectacular. It was dominated by a massive pool in the middle, where several platforms and odd looking contraptions were already manned by Dinitria's naked attendants. The clear water was littered by multi-coloured blossoms that reminded me a little of orchids. The rest of the atrium was framed by small trees, shrubs and magnificent flowers of all kinds. A group of Harkan males played some instruments that could have easily come from Earth; flutes, something similar to a lute and some small drums and cymbals. The whole atmosphere was mightily sensual and yet care-free and very pleasant. Tamara quickly informed us that we were allowed to look now, as we weren't in public anymore. I was reasonably happy about that, as two stunning attendants started undressing me. Dinitria and the girls were also helped out of their clothing; then led into the water together with Quila and me, where we submerged up to our hips. The water was lukewarm, as the pool was illuminated and probably heated by the suns, which had by then risen high in the sky. The agile hands of the attendants cleansed our bodies with some sweet smelling paste very thoroughly. I couldn't help but feel mildly aroused already. A state further enhanced by the following massage with some very fragrant oils on the platforms near the middle of the pool. "Did you give your flesh names?" "Yes, this is Jon and the other one is Quila." "Unusual names, but then so are yours. I haven't been to the Elia region for years. Considering how well grown your flesh is, that might have been an inexcusable oversight. If they perform to my satisfaction, I might be willing to trade them for a coach and weapons." For the first time Emma interjected. Pilot 06: Animals "They are neither for sale nor barter." Tamara gave her a quick warning sign not to intercede, as she appeared to feel she had the situation under control. "What Emma meant to say is that we are both reasonably attached to them and the services they provide for us. We actually planned to set them free, once we have completed our errand, as they fought extraordinarily bravely when facing the robbers. In fact, we owe our lives to them, as ridiculous as that might sound." "I appreciate that. You there, Jon, come here. Let's see what you can do that your mistress is so fond of." I obeyed and waded through the water until I reached her platform. She might have been a bitch, but she had a gorgeous body and a very pretty face, which might have looked even prettier if she managed to rid herself of this haughty and condescending expression she was wearing. The oil the attendants applied had been completely absorbed by our bodies, leaving our skin soft and fragrant. Dinitria's hand immediately clasped my moderately swollen dick. "Good tool. I will cherish it inside of me. But first you will pleasure me with your tongue. I hear Elians are very good at that. Tamara, I want to see you and Emma suck on Quila's dick in the meantime. Get in the fuckers for the ambience." She clapped her hands three times and the atrium became alive with couples and groups surrounding the pool and busying themselves. But all this became a side-note as I delved between Dinitria's open legs and tried to live up to our assumed reputation. Her labia were quite large and really dark, almost black, but her insides were just as pink and irresistible as an Earth woman's. While testing her sensitivity I noticed the arrival of the "ambient fuckers" from the corner of my eye, who crowded the platforms next to us and did what they were expected to. "Ah ... yes ... like that ... lick it ... faster ... more to the left ..." Actually, I didn't particularly like it when being directed in my performance. It was a bit like being devaluated, as if I didn't know what I was doing and needed pointers. For a moment I thought of torturing her for that, building her up quickly and then letting her hang on that sweet cliff into oblivion, but my own horniness got the better of me. The sooner I would get her off, the sooner I could join the fray, as the sounds and sights around me really got me going by then. The prissy bitch apparently had no further complaints with what I was doing and moaned and groaned instead, only occasionally influencing my ministrations by steering me with light pressure of her thighs. Someone else must have noticed my rather stiff plight and joined us on the platform, and even without a single glance I knew where my dick had found a magnificent resting place. Emma's sucking was unmistakeable, her deep-throating incomparable. I looked into Dinitra's heated face, but there was no sign of disapproval, only passion and bliss. A shudder ran through her body, her muscles tensed and she screamed out her orgasm for all to hear. Maybe it was a matter of etiquette, as only then the first of her "fuckers" followed. "Yes ... yes ... good flesh, great tongue. Go on. One more time." Fair enough, for one it was a very nice pussy she got there and licking her was very enjoyable, also Emma's contribution to my well-being was making it easy for me to comply with Dinitria's request. Nevertheless I quickly looked around and saw that Tamara and Quila had been successfully bonding also, settling their little differences in the best possible way. Team building just the way I liked it. Then I shifted my attention back to Dinitria's grateful cunt, suckling on her clit and since she was so fond of music, introducing her to what swingers called the one-man-band. I inserted three fingers into her pussy, two into her rear and licked her with renewed zest. Apparently this was a concert she relished, albeit very briefly only, as she announced her second orgasm quickly and vociferously. I kept lapping her slowly, but stopped moving my fingers around. Dinitria seemed to need a few more minutes to come down from cloud nine, so I had the opportunity to enjoy Emma's expertise whilst looking around a bit to take in the spectacle of heaving flash and slapping bodies all around me. All of a sudden Dinitria was with us again and as disagreeable as before. She turned to some of her attendants. "Get him into the chair." The attendants tried unsuccessfully to remove Emma from my cock, who just budged after I gave her a sign to do so. The attendants led me to a chair made of that marble-like stone in the middle of the pool, which was surrounded by an odd-looking wooden contraption. Before I knew what happened, my hands were tied behind my back; then they shackled my ankles. Dinitria put on some strange looking harness, which was then connected to the wooden contraption. Her attendants helped her onto my dick and then went to actuate two wheels on either side of the contraption. They might have been a backward agrarian society, but definite human ingenuity was shining through in this mechanical masterpiece. Through a series of wheels, water was scooped up in what looked like suspended excavator shovels. Once the shovels got to the highest point, they toppled over and the water splattered down to the ones below, thus creating a continuous motion that the attendants had less and less part and trouble in maintaining. At the same time Dinitria was lifted up and let down about two or three inches, just enough to enjoy the pleasure of riding me without having to strain her aristocratic body. From above some water spilled over our heated bodies, giving the impression we were fucking under a waterfall. "Faster." The attendants had no trouble whatsoever getting the contraption into yet another gear and Dinitria mechanically humped me with rabbit speed, moaning and grunting, her hands entangled in my hair, her face twitching and distorting with violent passion. The musicians had changed their tunes to match and so did the "fuckers" around us. I could sense that Dinitria was about to come again and relaxed my mind to relinquish myself to this incredible feeling too. Soon our little portreeve got gushing water from above and a hot infusion from below seconds before she herself also liquefied in the throes of her orgasm. "Enough. Stop it." The attendants pulled a couple of levers and the thing came to a grinding halt, sending one last flush of water onto our dripping bodies. But that wasn't the last ablution we were provided with; the male fuckers suddenly dropped their partners and circled us, wanking like maniacs, until one after the other spilled their load onto both our bodies, a gesture Dinitria almost certainly enjoyed more than I did. Nevertheless I had a big grin on my face when they finally released her from the harness and me from the chair. I joined my three companions on the platform they were resting on. Quila looked spent. Apparently Tamara was a bit of a wild cat too. Dinitria, however, appeared to be still in the mood for more action and pointed directly at him. Her body glistened in the sunlight; most of her upper body was still covered with threads of cum. Quila was led to her platform where she stood arms akimbo, legs apart, releasing some drips of my earlier donation in the process. I couldn't hear what she was saying to him in a very low voice as the music was pretty loud that very moment. However, I saw with some alarm that he was shaking his head. Everyone froze. "What is he doing? Shit," Tamara hissed into my ear. Dinitria's somewhat dreamy and lustful expression changed instantly. This time she shouted her order. "Lick it off. Obey." So there was the rub. She wanted him to lick the cum off of her. I exchanged a quick look with Tamara and Emma. Tamara's tightening lips and two attendants with whips approaching heralded the escalation of the situation. I knew Quila well enough to anticipate that he wouldn't be intimidated, no matter what. I quickly checked the atrium for an escape route and the position of guards, but I couldn't see any. It all happened incredibly fast. Dinitria slapped Quila right in his face and he simply responded in kind. I will never forget the surprise in Dinitria's eyes. He did not give her time to recover, instead grabbed her wet hair and forced her down on her knees, pressing her face against his slightly swollen dick. The attendants with the whips were about to intercede and Emma was on her feet with one fluent movement. But we were all equally surprised by the next development. Dinitria raised her hand to stop them and opened her mouth instead, admitting his swelling pride and joy. For a minute I had the nagging suspicion that she wanted to blow him up and then bite his dick off, Pret-style, so to speak, but she did nothing of the kind. Quila was getting really into it now. His grip in her hair tightened as he started head-fucking her. She gagged and wretched, but again her hand went up to show her attendants that they weren't supposed to interfere. "Yeah, suck me you little horny bitch." I was still anxious he was overdoing it and the whole thing would turn into something messy, but nothing untoward happened; the only messy thing became her face, as he pulled out at the very last moment and frosted it with a deep, satisfied grunt. Then he released her hair and nonchalantly waded back to our platform. You could hear a pin drop. Everyone was frozen with horror. "Now I see why you are so fond of them, sisters. Initiative, gumption and a very impressive technique on top. Are you sure you don't want to trade?" Tamara seemed surprised that this hadn't turned into a bloodbath, but recovered quickly enough and slowly shook her head. Dintria beamed, wiped off some of Quilas deposit from her face and appreciatively licked it off her finger. "I understand. But I insist that you spend the day and night with us before continuing your journey. And I want Quila and Jon in my chamber tonight. If you are willing to extend that courtesy, I will give you a coach and weapons. Agreed?" The four of us made quick eye-contact. It didn't sound like a trap and I felt no sense of danger. Tamara nodded. "Agreed. You honour us with your request." She was cleansed by her attendants in the way she had originally been assigning to Quila and we spent most of the day feasting and relaxing in the atrium. We both made sure that she had reason to believe she had struck a fair bargain during the night. Actually, away from all her minions, she had no trouble accepting our guidance and getting the shit fucked out of her. After all, Quila and I were a well-attuned team, since our friend Anjiran had given us ample opportunity to practice back on Talagon and Mother. Chapter three – The Road to Thraldom The four massive beasts drawing our coach stank terribly, but we were making headway with an impressive speed. The roads were okay up to about ten miles away from the town, but got progressively worse the deeper we got into the countryside. Suspensions had apparently not been invented by the Harkans yet and we were in for a bumpy ride. Getting past other coaches was usually a breakneck manoeuvre, which we had to do less and less the farther we got away from the town. It took a while until Tamara started talking. "Quila, can you do me a favour and never ever again pull such a crazy stunt? You could have got all of us killed, you know." Quila sneered. "I know women. I don't think there was ever any real danger for us." "You don't know shit ... this is Harkas, these aren't Piper women. The first time I was here I saw two Harkan women publicly castrating their men for not performing to their standards. And those were ordinary women, no portreeves. You were lucky she was bored and eager to experience something new." "Yeah, I sensed that. That's why I was never in any real danger." We hit yet another massive stone and had to cling on to the leathery strap that had been placed alongside the walls of the open coach, presumably for that reason. I reckoned we were going at a speed of around sixty to seventy miles per hour with that thing. I wasn't really interested in Quila's expertise that very moment, but in Tamara's. "Tamara, why haven't we been informed about any of this? Since you are such an expert and knew about it beforehand, the strategic team must have known it too. Why wasn't it included in the mission briefing? Why didn't you tell us? And what else is there you haven't told us?" Tamara looked me straight in the eye and sighed. "First of all, I thought you had been briefed. I actually thought you were pretty brave to go on this mission, considering what could happen. The town we are trying to reach is called Sitria. Sitria is the second largest town here, with almost forty-thousand inhabitants. And there is something you haven't quite understood yet: Dinitria was extremely pleasant in comparison to what you can expect there. When I told her I would set you free, she must have thought I was joking and having you on. There are no free men on this planet. Sitria is the centre of their slave trade. Men are slaves here, a mere commodity that is being traded, and discarded when useless. Due to a genetic response to radiation originating at the blue dwarf, there is a ratio of three men to one woman being born on average here. That is why they are so expendable." Quila laughed out loud. "So what? Doesn't scare me one bit. I don't want to settle down here, so if we have to play slaves for the duration of the mission, fuck it. I don't give a shit." "There is a chance that the locals will try to take you from us. You will see." "If anyone tries to take Jon, they will have to get past me first," Emma interjected firmly. Again we were lifted almost two feet in the air. "Thank you sweetie. Can't we establish a localised antigrav field? My delicate hindquarters don't agree with this bloody primitive coach. And Tamara, could you kindly tell us what our real mission is? Looking for allies on this insignificant backward planet sounds more than just a little ridiculous to me, the more I know about this world. What is it you are not telling us?" "Oh, we are looking for an ally. One to be precise. You never bothered to ask me why I have been on this planet before. And no, we cannot use an antigrav field." "So, why was that?" "I was meant to rescue someone. It was before the Salarmorn had erected the barrier. My very first mission. I failed." "So who was it?" "Dsar. The Salarmorn who was attempting to give this planet a new direction, before the Pret came." "Now it starts to make sense. A Salarmorn? Here, on this planet?" "Yes. He refused to come with me." Quila was just as curious as me about the Salarmorn. "What do they look like? And why did he want to stay here?" Tamara shook her head. "What they look like? He was posing as a Harkan. Therefore he looked like a Harkan to me. He never revealed his true form to me, not even when we ... but that is not important." Emma had been quiet throughout our conversation, but now her face lit up. "You love him. You are in love with this man, aren't you?" Tamara's smile looked pretty pained. "It is a little bit more complicated than that. However, all you need to know is that we either have to convince him to come with us this time, or we will have to actuate a secondary plan I am not at liberty to divulge to you." "You said there are no free men on this planet. Does that mean he is a slave in Sitria?" "Thus far we don't even know if he is still alive. If he is, it won't be easy to find him. Especially if he doesn't want to be found, which is indeed a very real possibility. His stay here wasn't authorised by the Council to begin with. What is this ahead of us? Emma, can you make out any details?" "Roadblock. Six Pret and two other coaches with several Harkans. They are searching the coaches." "Fuck. Is there any way around it?" "Do you see another road here, Quila? No, we have to get past them. We have to hide our energy weapons and other gadgets." Emma's repository in her back was big enough to take up our smaller handhelds and a few grenades. Quila's favourite weapon however, a half-sized blaster that was almost two feet long, which he carried inconspicuously in his bag, wouldn't fit in there. Neither did the swords and daggers we had received from Dinitria. "Quila, chuck it. We can keep the swords. Everyone is carrying weapons in Sitria." "Why should I? Come on, they are only six. We can take them out easily." "Yeah and alert the whole garrison? Do you think the use of energy weapons here won't register on their scanners? They have stepped up their security measures since they learned we are sending cloaked ships into their domain." Quila was still defiant. "Then why are we carrying energy weapons at all, if I may ask?" "For emergencies only. And this doesn't qualify as one. They aren't searching for us; they are searching for something else." Emma quietly looked into the direction of the Pret, which was still a small point on the horizon for us. "They are tagging them with a sub-dermal chip or something similar. One of the coaches is free to go on. Now they are checking the second one." "Quila, mate, please, don't make such a fuss about this. We still have our disintegrators and the dislocator handhelds. Throw it as far as possible into this field here. Maybe when finding it one of the locals will put it to good use after we have left." Quila grumbled for a few more seconds, but then finally acquiesced. I resealed Emma's depository just in time, before we got close enough for the Pret to see us. It was odd to finally face the Pret. Of course I had been in battle with them before, and even watched them fucking when passing through one of their encampments. But never in a seemingly "normal" situation. "What are your names, where are you from and what is your business in Sitria?" The Pret had a deep, bellowing voice. "I am Tamara, this is Emma; these two men are called Jon and Quila. We are from a town called Avar. We are here to buy slaves." Two Pret boarded our coach and inspected our bags. They went about their business rather indifferently and with a minimum of posturing. They smelled like coconut, which struck me as odd somehow. I had expected them to reek or something. "Stretch out your right arm. I will inject a tiny machine under your skin. It will not harm you, but if you attempt to remove it, it will release poison into your bloodstream and you will die instantly. Do you understand?" "I do. Will you remove it once we leave town?" "No. Every Harkan will receive such a device from now on. You may continue your journey now." We passed another two roadblocks before reaching the gates of Sitria. The Pret scanned us, but didn't do anything since we already had been implanted. Emma claimed that she could disable and remove the chips without any danger, but we were desisting from doing that for the time being. The gates of Sitria were guarded by Pret, not Harkans. "What is your business here?" "We are here to purchase flesh." "You may do so. Be advised that you must not approach our station, which is located near the centre of town. The flickering yellow light you see around it is a fence made out of pure energy. If you are stupid enough to touch it or try passing through, you die. If you kill any of your kind, that is not our business. However, if you make any aggressive move towards us, you will regret it. Do you understand?" "Perfectly." "Now move on, for your own sakes, I'm getting hungry." The other two Pret guards made bellowing noises, but then actually licked their lips. It was high time to move indeed. Once we were past the gates we could already see a massive dome dominating Sitria's skyline. Coaches weren't allowed in the narrow streets of the town, so we had to leave our vehicle and the animals at some stables adjacent to the city walls and continue by foot. Pilot 06: Animals The Pret and Harkans had apparently blended together very nicely. Right next to our stable, two Harkan males were chained to the wall of a larger house. While a downright ugly old hag whipped the shit out of one of them, two Pret took turns buggering the other unfortunate fellow. About ten Harkans were watching this outrage with interest and their hands under their tunics. About time they invented television here too. I exchanged a quick look with Quila, whose lips tightened, but we cast down our eyes and followed Tamara and Emma at the appropriate distance. The narrow roads were packed with Harkans and Pret. I started to fathom what Tamara had spoken of. More than once Quila and I were felt up by Harkan women in passing, which appeared to be a local custom, just as the fights we witnessed on our way to the inn Tamara wanted to reach. Quite a few men were naked except for spiked collars attached to long chains, which tied them together in small groups. Their destination was obvious. The slave-market. I was a little relieved that the way to the inn was leading away from that. We arrived at a square where several Pret were having dinner. They didn't even bother to kill the poor Harkans, but ate them alive. I was glad I was supposed to stare on the ground rather, as I started feeling sick to my stomach. Suddenly we were stopped. A quick glance revealed that it were Harkans this time. "Very nice flesh you've got there. I want it. Hand it over to me and you will not be harmed." "Are you challenging us?" Tamara drew her sword and pointed it at the tall Harkan woman ahead of us, leading a group of six, two women and four men. They were all armed to the teeth and looking rather wild and fierce. People around us stopped and sat down to witness what they expected to follow. Even the Pret stopped eating and glanced in our direction. "Don't be a fool and hand over your flesh." "Never." "Then suffer the consequences." Her attack was swift and direct. However, oddly enough she didn't seem overly anxious to hurt Tamara, nor was the other one keen on hurting Emma either. It looked more like a show-fight. Tamara seemed equally surprised, but gave Emma a quick sign not to escalate the situation. Of course Emma could have killed the two attacking women in a heartbeat. Instead she followed Tamara's lead and disarmed the second after a short struggle. The Harkan men just stood and watched as we did. What the fuck was this supposed to mean? The two women bowed to our group. "You defeated us. It is within your rights to claim our flesh." "I don't want your garbage. Get out of our sight." All of a sudden there were screams of terror and people started to run. I turned around and saw why. While our girls had crossed blades with the Harkans, the Pret had been assassinated. It was a gruesome sight, as the attackers had been really quite thorough and hacked the Pret to pieces. We followed the lead of the Harkans and ran away from the square. Shortly afterwards we heard the unmistakable sound of Pret energy weapons. "Fuck. So much for keeping a low profile." "Shut up. The inn is over there. We have to get off the streets." Now I began to understand why the Pret were using the implants. Apparently there was an active resistance, even here. That didn't bode well for whoever had used the diversion and killed the Pret. But it could also get us into trouble. Naturally the Pret would analyse what happened here and look up the people involved. Maybe it would be a good idea to get Emma to disable the implants for us. The inn was pretty large and packed with drunken and loud Harkans, male and female. It wasn't easy to get through to the bar, where a middle-aged woman and several men had a hard time keeping up with the orders of their patrons. However, she stopped when Tamara approached her and placed a piece of gold into her palm. I couldn't hear their conversation, but a minute later one of her helpers lead us through the crowd to an exit leading to a wooden staircase. Our room was on the second floor. The guy mumbled something about fresh water and disappeared again. Tamara bolted the heavy wooden door. "No surveillance devices present in this room. There are Pret outside scanning the area, though." "Does that surprise anyone? What the fuck was that just now?" Quila cautiously opened one of the wooden shutters of our window and peeked outside. "There is a Pret transport platform and two groups of Pret scanning the area. They don't seem overly excited. Maybe this wasn't an isolated incident." I nodded. "That would explain why they have erected a shield around their compound too. What a crazy planet." Quila shrugged. "But you have to admit, pretty nifty tactics, don't you think?" "Which can get us into a lot of trouble. How do all of you feel about disabling the implants?" Tamara emphatically shook her head. "No, not here. I chose this inn for a reason. If we disable the devices here, the Pret will investigate this place." "They might do that anyway, since we were so graciously included in an assassination plot." "Be that as it may, we shouldn't draw any more attention to us for the time being. Anyway, I need to freshen up and eat. I have ordered some food for us already downstairs." With these words Tamara took off her tunic and immersed her hands in a small pail of water standing next to what was supposedly meant to be the bed, made of straw and a few dirty rugs. There were no chairs or tables in the room, so I sat down on the floor, leaning against the wall and watched Tamara cleansing herself. Even Quila gave up his lookout-post at the window and joined me on the floor. "What are you guys staring at? You have both seen me naked before. Quila even fucked me." Quila grinned. "And he wouldn't mind repeating that." "Fuck you." "Whenever you want, darling." There was someone at the door, trying to open it, but Tamara had bolted it before. "Who is it?" "Your food. Please open the door." Tamara continued cleansing herself and gave Emma a sign to open the door. Two male Harkans brought in massive plates of food and several beakers of their version of wine. One of them stared directly at the naked woman in front of him and grinned from one ear to the other, despite what must be threatening for disrespectful behaviour like that. "Tamara. You came back." "Paria, my friend. I was hoping to find you here. Yes, I'm back. This is Emma, the chaps are Jon and Quila." Paria gave the other man a sign to leave. "Are they off-worlders too?" "Yes, they are. We can speak openly with Paria, he was our local contact when I got here last. He is a Harkan, but a Harkan educated by the Scnrgsis and, of course, Dsar." The Harkan made a gesture resembling a bow. "Don't believe for a minute that knowledge can't be painful. However, I also believe it kept me alive thus far. You are looking for Dsar again I suppose?" Tamara nodded slowly. "Do you know where I can find him?" "No, I don't. He disappeared about a year ago. The last thing he said to me was that he needed to change into something a little more suitable for the occasion. And then he disappeared. I thought he meant clothes at first, but when he didn't return, I guessed he assumed another body." "Assumed another body?" "They didn't tell you anything about the Salarmorn either? That is ... quite peculiar. Well, they are morphids, shape-shifters. And that isn't their only extraordinary power. I should have guessed that he would change his identity." The Harkan produced a broad grin. "I think he didn't only change his face this time." "Yeah, that would make sense. As a woman, he'd be in a much better position to influence things. I never really got why he didn't do that in the first place." Tamara paused pensively, then blushed a little. "But obviously I am grateful that he didn't. But ... hang on. Fuck. Of course! Stupid me. Now I know why the woman who attacked me seemed oddly familiar. What a cunt. He hasn't changed one bit. I'm going to kill this bastard." "You mean the woman staging this diversion was our Dsar? Fascinating." "The group that staged this attack is known as the Muar. The Pret actually had to erect a force-field around their compound as they succeeded in sabotaging a lot of their technology before. The Muar are keeping the Pret on their toes. Did they implant you with the tracking chips yet? You might wish to disable them, if you want to contact the Muar. I can arrange a meeting for you. And now you will have to give me three pieces of copper as you availed yourself of the landlady's flesh uninvited. Exchanging intelligence is not on our menu, I'm afraid." "She'll give you a piece of gold. Sit down. Stay. Eat with us. Tell us about the situation here. How are you faring?" "The Three Mistresses have decided to arrange themselves with the Pret. There are some rumours that they have even converted to their religion. They deliver slaves to the Pret compound in all openness. No-one ever returns from the compound. There is resistance, some organised in groups like the Muar. Some more spontaneous, reactions to those ominous last drops that bring everything to overflow, by people thoroughly pissed off already to begin with. Life wasn't exactly easy for men on this planet before the fucking shaggy monsters came." Quila snorted. "Pussies. Three to one and you don't manage to show them their place? What the fuck is wrong with you?" "Well, I know that, you know that, but the men born here don't even dare dream about that. It is as it is. It has always been like that. Do you understand?" Quila slowly shook his head. The food was very tasty. Even tastier was the view of Tamara's magnificent body, though. Quila and Paria were discussing avenues of social change, while I picked up any stray energy released by her very deliberate and seductive movements. She didn't eat, she mouth-fucked the food before my leering eyes. The suns had set, but the temperature appeared to rise in the room progressively. Tamara nibbled on a wing of something while her legs opened in slow motion. Due to the dark colouration of her lips and her untrimmed bush I could only intuit her cunt's location and state, but it almost definitely wanted me closer and more active. Pussies talked, you know. It took me a while to notice that it was silent in the room all of a sudden. Quila's and Paria's attention had shifted to Tamara's antics also and Emma used the opportunity to dispose of her tunic. Tamara smiled somewhat wickedly at Emma. "So, Emma ... the only man you ever slept with was Jon? Don't you want to try someone else at one point?" "Certainly. I am curious about a lesbian experience too, if that is what you are insinuating." "Oh ... I wasn't, but good to know nevertheless. I was about to suggest that you try to broaden your horizon with Quila and Paria, while I take out your pilot for a spin." Emma lit up like a Christmas tree. "You mean we'd all be fucking? Oh yes. I would love that. May I Jon? I would understand if you don't want to share me with anyone else." "No, that is fine sweetie. You can do whatever you want. However, if you are eventually going to have a go with a woman, I would want to be there and watch that." "Of course, Jon. Quila, Paria, are you okay with this too? Jon told me I am very good at fucking and he likes my blowjobs too." Well, both didn't have a problem with this, quite the contrary. They took their kit off at the same time as me. I wanted to have a quick wash too, but Tamara stopped me. "No, I love the way you smell right now. Like animal in heat." Both her hands whizzed around my hardening shaft and massaged my balls. Her tongue followed an arch from my left loin to my bellybutton and down to the right again. I bit my lower lip, as it was almost too much to take. Emma was kneeling between Quila and Paria and alternately gave them samples of her incredible oral skills. Tamara homed in on my cock, but moved first sideways, then completely on top of me, presenting her blackened cunt to me. The experts aboard the Snay really had paid a lot of attention to detail. I wondered if they got a kick out of it too. The taste, however, was very much like an Earth woman's. I quickly heaped more of that straw under my head so I could lick her comfortably, while she sucked my dick with zest and the knowledge that we had all the time in this world. She savoured it, just as she had savoured her food, slowly, deliberately, flicking her tongue across my helmet, even gnawing on it lightly. I responded in kind, lazily gliding across her well-lubricated pussy. Quila appeared to be a lot less patient, as he extricated himself from Emma's oral ministrations and started fucking her doggy-style. Paria, now being the sole recipient of her skilful and tireless oral treatment, voiced his enthusiasm loudly enough to ensure that whoever the person was knocking at the door got a clear idea of why he was delayed. Tamara released my cock and crawled down my body, impaling herself on my throbbing cock. I licked her juices from my lips and reclined, as she humped me leisurely for starters. Now I could turn my head to the three others. Quila was grunting and working up quite a sweat as he pounded Emma zestfully, while Paria looked and sounded as if he was about to lose the plot already. With some surprise I registered that Tamara was keen on something else as she allowed my cock to slip out, and instead of placing it back in its former location, she inserted it nonchalantly into her rear entrance. Despite the ample lubrication my dick had received in her other hole, it took some doing getting it into her tight little arsehole. As slowly and controlled her movements had been before, now she was really letting it fly, perhaps egged on by the sounds of mounting lust and passion from the three other players next to us. It was game over for Paria first and Quila noisily followed soon after. Tamara's wild movements were almost painful, probably for both of us, which kept me from coming for the time being. Emma deserted her two playmates, who looked rather spent anyway, and joined us instead, offering her juicy artificial cunt to her master's tongue. Ever since the encounter with Life, she had been able to come whether the ship was in communication distance or not, one of the parting gifts of that amazing entity. And ever since that encounter, she simply couldn't get enough of being licked too. Maybe it was that spectacle that made Paria rise to the occasion again, because all of a sudden he got up in both senses and provided Tamara with an additional filling down below. I could feel his cock rubbing against mine inside of her, separated only by the sheaths of her tissue, while Emma's growing excitement announced that she was reaching her orgasm too. I was glad about that, as it got progressively more difficult to coordinate everything. Tamara had stopped moving herself and allowed herself to be fucked by Paria and me. Besides, Quila didn't want to be left out, got up and shoved his semi-hard cock into her mouth. The whole thing was very distracting, but at the same time really engaging and fascinating. Yet I was completely taken aback, when I came about a minute before Emma, out of nowhere. I left my cock where it was while Paria pounded Tamara harder and harder, until she eventually came too, releasing Quila's cock to voice her success. Emma was intrigued by what she had observed and demanded to be sandwiched too. Paria and Quila obliged while Tamara and I cuddled and watched them going on and on. I kissed Tamara and stroke her. She watched the scene, but her mind seemed miles away, despite the physical relaxation and release, she seemed sad and anxious. After a longer break I made sure she got her mind off whatever it was was bothering her for yet another time. Chapter four – The Elusive Paria brought up our breakfast and ate with us. As an attendant he only got one meal per day from his landlady and mistress. He also had to lick her at least once per day, which he didn't mind that much, as else she was treating him much better than many other mistresses before had done. Between licking and making our breakfast he had arranged a meeting for us and explained how we could get to the place where a Muar member would pick us up. Even in the early morning hours the town was teeming with life. Fortunately we didn't have to watch any Pret having breakfast. We went past a spice market and for the first time on this trip I regretted that we didn't have time to linger. The adjacent vegetable market was where we were supposed to meet our contact. Paria had told us to ask for a Ruberry fruit at a specific stall. A young boy of perhaps twelve or thirteen was tending the stall in question. It was just then that I noticed that he was the first child I had seen, which struck me as odd. He listened to our request and then fell silent, as a Pret patrol came very close, hardly looking at the people, more on their scanners. For a second I got the feeling they were looking for us, but apparently that wasn't the case. The boy pointed to a small house on the opposite side of the plaza. "I don't have any here. Go to the shop over there and ask for Yenia. Tell her Trillia has sent you. She will provide what you desire." Tamara quickly handed him a copper piece, but this time it wasn't as well received as before. The expression on his face was close to disgust. He took it nevertheless. The shop had indeed various fruits and veggies, but we were quickly escorted into a back room and asked to wait there. I watched Tamara attentively. She looked distracted and distraught. I surmised the possible reunion with her old lover was something she wasn't really looking forward to. I guessed that even our last night's romp was a reaction to what she expected to happen next. A woman in her early twenties entered the room. "I'm Yenia. You are the people Paria has sent? Good. I understand you are looking for someone?" "Yes. It is vital that we get in touch with her. Unfortunately we don't even know her name." "Paria has told me what happened. We need to remove the Pret implants first. I hope you are aware that the penalty for this is death? Stretch out your arms." "Well, if you don't mind, we'd rather have Emma here doing that. She is good with machines." "I see. You are off-worlders, aren't you? Looking for Dsar? She told us you would come." "Ah, so she kept the name. Good. Yes, we are. It was her challenging us as a diversion, wasn't it?" Yenia smiled and nodded. Emma removed the device from her own arm first and examined it. "I can't see how this device could produce the poison the Pret was talking about." Yenia laughed out. "It can't. This is just a ruse to prevent us from tampering with the devices. Dsar has analysed them for us. You are in no danger. They are not conducting global tracking either. They just want to intimidate us." Tamara looked a little miffed. "You are astonishingly knowledgeable about technology for a Harkan. I suppose Dsar has brought you up to speed about the outside world?" "Dsar has shown us a new way. As soon as the Pret are gone, things will change significantly on this world." "I see." We all knew what that meant. Dsar had interfered with the natural development of the Harkan society. That was against the rules the Salarmorn had laid out for themselves and everyone else. Breaking these rules was unthinkable. I watched Tamara attentively. She didn't seem overly surprised, just pissed. Very, very pissed. Now I really couldn't wait to meet the Salarmorn. --- Yenia led us through a hatch in another house into a tunnel system that defied the technical abilities of the Harkan society too. Apparently Dsar had been active in the "underground" on many different levels. We marched on for what seemed like miles, until we reached a large cave guarded by several Muar, including one we had already met at our "show-fight". Tamara spotted Dsar first and before anyone had a chance to react or intercede, she went up to her and slapped her in the face. Several Muar were about to jump her, but Dsar motioned them to stop and laughed in Tamara's angry face. Pilot 06: Animals "Hello, my love. Didn't I tell you we would meet again?" Before Tamara could answer Dsar pressed her body against hers and locked her in a fiery kiss. When she released her, Tamara's anger appeared to have melted away. Dsar watched us with curiosity and a broad grin. "Ah, another Terran. I have been to your world many times. Fascinating planet. Let me guess, you my friend are a Piper? Yeah, I suspected as much. And you are an android, aren't you? I know Scnrgsis' technology when I see it. Welcome to our planet. I apologise for any inconvenience caused by our little skirmish earlier. We have observed you long before you entered the city. I believe this belongs to you?" Dsar handed Quila his blaster. I looked from her to Tamara, who appeared to be mesmerised by her closeness, but shook her head nevertheless. I cleared my throat. "I am Jon, this is Quila and my android is called Emma." "I know. Oh ... I see ... the Council found it unnecessary to vest you with any information about my race and our abilities. I am a passive telepath, meaning I can read your thoughts and memories, but cannot transmit my thoughts to you. What an interesting adventure you had with my brother." "Your brother?" "The entity you got to know as Life. Enough of that though, it would take too long to explain. Tamara, no, I won't come with you this time either. And I'm afraid I can't change my form quickly enough to accommodate your other desire." Quila tilted his head and scowled at her. "Sorry Dsar, Salarmorn or not, I think it is impolite to probe into our minds and sniff around. Besides, who do you think you are? What gives you the right to interfere with this culture?" "The Pret, my young friend, the Pret give me the right to do what is necessary." "I am not talking about creating a resistance cell. I am talking about exposing a backward culture to concepts and ideas they might not be ready for. After all, non-interference is the philosophy of your race, isn't it? So you think you can abandon all that just because you feel the need to wage your own private little war out here? To accomplish what, exactly?" Dsar was smiling, but all of a sudden her smile changed to a frown. "Oh, I see, you can block your thoughts from me. Impressive. I understand your qualms, but believe me, you have no idea what you are talking about. You don't know my people, all your knowledge comes from whatever the Scnrgsis deem necessary and opportune to tell you. The only one here, who knows a little more, is Tamara, since I chose to enhance her perspectives a little bit. Oh Jon, thank you very much, I am glad you like this form – it took me more than two weeks to perfect it." I hated telepaths. Okay, in this instance it didn't matter that much that she read my thoughts, but I still I didn't like when people snooped around in my head willy-nilly and without my permission. "Don't judge so quickly, Jon, you have no idea what that can do for your sex-life. Ask Tamara ... I see, you have quite an appetite there too ... that is almost certainly your Salarmorn heritage." "My what?" "I said too much already. Anyway, I am sorry, but I will not come back with you. You made your journey in vain, Tamara." Tamara did not seem overly surprised. "We need to talk alone, without the Harkans. You need to know what is going on in the galaxy. As you can see, I can block my thoughts at will now too. Your brothers have given me this ability. This is why I was chosen for this mission, I did not volunteer. I never wanted to see your face again." "Well, I have changed it, as you can see. Don't you like it? Jon here at least fantasizes about fucking my brains out already. Why hasn't he been implanted as you and Quila?" "Quila has not been implanted, he's a natural, nor have I – I was trained by your brothers. You need to come home. What you do here has no meaning in the context of the situation in the galaxy. We need to talk alone." Dsar smiled. "I am sorry, but nothing you could possibly say ... or do ... will change my mind. I have chosen this form for a reason. I am actually the most likely successor to the post of Mistress, should something untoward happen to any of the three current rulers. And we are going to ensure that there will be a vacancy very soon." Tamara's returning anger was written clearly on her face. For a moment it looked like she was about to draw a weapon and attack Dsar; the Harkans seemed to have noticed that too, as they surrounded us clandestinely. Quila's right hand changed the position on his blaster in response, switching from standby mode to active. Dsar laughed out loud. "Oh, Piper, how cute is that? You are going to shoot me? For being creative in combating our mortal enemy? Better make it quick, as ..." No-one had looked at Emma, who stood a little apart from our group. The greenish energy beam hit Dsar and made her collapse. She continued firing on the Muar until there wasn't anyone standing but us. "Emma, what the fuck ..." Tamara nodded in approval. "That was Plan B. It was clear from the very beginning that we wouldn't be able to convince Dsar. While you two were busy fucking the portreeve, I revealed the alternative to Emma. She acted under my orders. They are all paralysed and will be for at least another hour. We have to get out of here now. Emma, you carry Dsar. Jon, open her repository and take out our weapons and deflectors. We will have to fight our way out, I am pretty sure we will face several Muar and the Pret soon enough as well." I followed Tamara's order, although I was fuming. "Why didn't you tell us anything?" "You can't shield your thoughts. Dsar would have found out. Emma, scan the tunnel system. There must be an exit that isn't leading into the town." "There are two. I would recommend the one in north-easterly direction, as there is a contingent of Muar arriving from the other one. I detect Pret scanning the area on the surface. The use of my energy weapon has apparently been detected." "Agreed." Tamara took what appeared to be an ordinary piece of silver out of her bag and placed it on Dsar's forehead. There must have been something built into it, as it stuck. "This will keep her unconscious and disable her shape-shifting abilities." I was still pretty miffed about her keeping us in the dark, although I understood the reasons for it perfectly. However, we really needed to focus on getting out of this bloody place. We had to paralyse several Muar guards on our way out, even though that increased the chance of the Pret detecting us from the surface. We switched on our deflectors before emerging from the exit of tunnel. They had spotted us nevertheless. The energy beam hitting my shield and throwing me three yards to the left was a rather clear indication of that. They themselves were all too visible. There was a group of about twenty in a half circle in front of the mouth of the natural cave the tunnel had led to. They had obviously scanned for our energy signatures and waited. I should have asked Emma to scan ahead of us. Pieces of rock crashed down, a smaller piece bounced off my shield, as I returned fire with the dislocator and sent three of them into oblivion. My comrades weren't exactly lazy either and diminished the contingent of Pret considerably, but there were troop antigrav platforms and single Pret flying with personal antigravs visible on the horizon already. "Sweetie, you need to pick us up, we are being pinned down by a bunch of Pret," I alerted the ship Emma. Her android had extended her shields around Dsar, who was still unconscious. First I found it weird that the Pret hadn't looked for any cover, but then I saw what was really happening when I followed the energy beams still hitting my shields, draining them precariously to their source, discovering that at least the same amount of Pret that had faced us openly hid amongst boulders and shrubs a little further back. I had three photon grenades and I had to use all of them to get rid of that problem. In the meantime the three others had cleared our way. Not a moment too soon, as Quila's shields had collapsed and his left arm was singed already. We would have perhaps twenty seconds before the second wave of Pret would reach us. I exchanged my empty power module, but it proved to be unnecessary. Emma flew in like a bird of prey, her cloak dropped, swiftly taking out the Pret, which looked like insects in comparison to her. She hovered about fifty yards above us and opened her matter sluice for us. We used her antigravs to get inside of her. "Emma, we are in. Re-cloak and let's get the hell out of here." "Re-cloaked and plotting escape route." Quila's face was distorted with pain and anger. "No, attack the fucking dome and blast the bastards! Let's give them a little something to remember us by." Tamara spoke out what I was thinking too. "No, Quila. We would hit the Harkans as well." "So what? Bloody barbarians, weirdoes, bitches, animals, fuck them!" "Shut up Quila, that is not what we came for. Let's go to the medical bay and get your arm sorted." That outburst of Emma's hand surprised me more than just a little. Apparently she tried to emulate Tamara in some fashion. The voice of the ship was calm and reassuring as always though. "They are trying to scan for us. Several Pret vessels converging, firing at random. No apparent danger, they are miles off." "Okay Emma, home to Mother. I will be on the bridge in a minute. Put Dsar in the guest quarters for the time being. Tamara, can I have a word?" Emma's hand disappeared with Quila and Dsar. Tamara scowled at me. She didn't wait until I spoke. "I can't answer any of your questions. What Dsar has told me I cannot repeat, as that was his ... her condition. Got it?" "Bugger that. Just tell me what she meant with 'our Salarmorn heritage'?" "You are a clever man, Jon, you'll figure it out. Or go wake Dsar and ask her, she doesn't seem to mind breaking every fucking rule our community is founded on. Maybe you even get to fuck her before we reach Mother. But let me warn you: the Salarmorn form a psionic bond that lasts forever. It is far worse than love, believe me. Of course Dsar didn't explain that little snag to me before it was too late. And I doubt she would do it now." "I see." "Jon, we will rendezvous with Mother in twenty-three minutes." "Thank you Emma. I'll come to the bridge." "So, no quickie? No interrogation?" "Nah. I have bonded with two Emma's in ways you could never understand. That is more than enough for one man. But if you are into it, we could have another go, once we are back aboard the Snay ..." Tamara laughed a hoarse laugh that couldn't hide the sadness and anger she was still feeling. "Maybe. We will see." --- Actually, I didn't know why I didn't ask Dsar when I had the chance. As soon as we were back in Mother's belly, Dsar was transferred to another section and there was no opportunity to talk to her again. We left the Pret domain a few days after. Tamara didn't take me up on my offer. But in a fashion, there was still something of her lingering long after she disembarked, as Emma had integrated parts of her personality into her own matrix, to make me feel more at home. "Jon, Mother has confirmed our pick-up. They will be with us in approximately thirteen hours. Would you like another cup of tea?" "Yes, sweetie. What would I be without you?" I could have answered that myself, really. Probably very lonely and bitter. Or, even more likely, dead.