The Thargoid and Fer-de-Lance

[Rollo]

"I see." Said the Eranin recruitment officer with a smirk.
"Yes, a favour for a friend. I'm a Sirius Cor..."
"Yes, yes, and you're sure you got nothing more to confirm your identity?"
"My identity? You mean P's identity surely?"
"Yes, well ok, the papers seem to be in order. Welcome to the Eranin Defence Force, Mr P!"
"Noo! I'm not P! I'm not P! Get your filthy hands off of me... Heelp! Mmmfff...!"

Rollo was ferried to the Eranin system, then escorted to his gratuitous Sidewinder, equipped with a state-of-the-art pulse laser and no jump-drive. Orders to invest in the high-intensity conflict zone. The radio crackled with the voice of the Squad-leader.

"To the killing-fields Mr P! Glory to Eranin, down with the Federal oppressors! Charge that Anaconda! FREEDOM!"
"Goodbye cruel Galaxy..." Rollo sighed deeply and deployed his pew-pew.

 

[Frank]

Frank hobbled into the Eranin recruitment office. "Here's them there forms. Where's that free Sidewinder you's givin' away?"

The officer stared at the wrinkled old man with the dishevelled grey hair. "Thank you for your interest. There is just one test you must pass before we give you your ship." He passed a poster of the front on a Coriolis Station to the old codger, "The docking slot has been marked with a red side and a green side, Can you tell me which is which?"

Frank held the poster at arm's length and squinted and stared at the slot. Still holding the poster he narrowed his eyes then opened them wide tilting his head back away from the poster. Still holding the poster at arm's length he blinked hard a few times and scowled at the docking slot...

The Eranin recruitment office eventually barked "Thank you for your time! I'm afraid your application has been unsuccessful, but please do try again." As the officer grabbed the old man by the arm and hustled him out of the room he added "please do tell your friends about this wonderful opportunity."

 

[Elden]

"Okay, speaking of your ship, there actually is a way to make it frameshift-capable"

"So, I'm listening"

"The thing is that you are not the first one to do it, so we won't need to reinvent the hyperdrive."

Jenner have pulled a pad out and opened a scheme of Saker on it.

"Look. We will cut the engine casing here and here and make some holes in these bulkheads for power conduits, so that an FSD block fits right in here between these reinforcement girders, partly inside your drive. It is a De Lacy module type E-TT, which would run just fine with your Mc Turner VG-30-D motor.
Then we are cutting through all the wing ribs down to the 12'th and are making cuts through the hull on both sides of each wing. There goes a heat dissipator. Twin dissipators actually - one on each wing, each having vent blocks on both sides of a wing."

"Uuh, With all that cutting, would it not break apart at first jump?"

"No worries here - these old birds were somewhat overbuilt for what they were, so it won't. Neither at first jump, nor at first shot. You may trust me on that."

"Okay, got it. Though I didn't expect it to be any sort of bolt-on plug-and-run, It turns out to be quite a lot of work. That probably would cost me quite a while..."

"Well, you are doing all the cutting yourself, so it wont be way too much...
but you still have things to pay off." Myiako said rubbing her head.

"Uh, yeah. Sorry for that cuff... Was it hard? It must have been a bit too much jinx for me. I'm quite embarrassed..."

Jenner have tilted her head a bit, narrowing her eyes at him. She has noticed Elden's left cheek being slightly pinkish, compared to the other one.

"Well, I would almost believe in your embarrassment, if it was visible on both sides of your face"
She giggled.
"Maybe I should have added some simmetry..."

 

[Iglooman]

The morning shift was going well and I just bringing all the figures for the mine together into one big financial picture. Things weren’t adding up. I had been in the mine. Ore production was good. The problem was, shipments on record were bad. I was starting to wonder if the books were only meant for Federal, Imperial, or Alliance eyes as a front for the operation while the rest was squirreled away into darker places. The ‘Orphanage’ was another mystery. It was actually on record, with a number of kids actually having been brought in and subsidies paid for by the Federation government. It was a legal operation, of sorts. From what I knew though, some of it was not fully legit.

It was during this train of thought that a large set of assets came to rest on my desk, along with a pair of elbows. I looked up from my paperwork, trying not to notice the soft mass bulging in from of me, and continuing up to the redhead that was smiling. “So, you’re the new guy. Not bad. I might have to start coming into the office more instead of helping with the orphans. Name’s Lola Tuttle. Welcome to my daddy’s mining claim, now mine, rest his soul. My dream was always to help the orphans, but his dream of a grand mining claim helps fund mine. It’s a win-win. His old hands keep the mine running, while I can keep doing good. Have you had the tour?”

“I, umm, no, not entirely.”

“Well, let’s see how look on the move. Come with me, I’ll take you around and show you the place.” I grabbed my crutches and hoisted myself up. “Oh dear, it is a bad injury?”

“No ma’am, just a slight mishap in the mine.”

“Call me Lola, please, or I’ll just call you hot stuff. Well, since I don’t know your name yet, hot stuff it is. So you’ve seen the mine then, I take it?”

I’d never really considered myself ‘hot stuff’, but I guess given the man I’d seen around here that were able to walk around freely, and not locked down to the mine, I was at least extremely hygienic. “Yes ma’a.. Lola. I’m Mike, nice to meet you.” She motioned me ahead towards the office exit.

“Oh, the pleasure may be all mine, hot stuff.” She continued with me and gave me the tour of the orphans. She really gave the honest feeling of caring for the kids and talked about how each one had come.

“What about that one?” I pointed to Robbie, one of the few she hadn’t told me about yet.

She turned to me and spoke in a hushed tone so Robbie couldn’t hear, using the excuse to press herself against me as I scrambled to brace myself with a crutch against the imposing onslaught of soft flesh. “Oh, Robbie. The guys brought him in on a hiring run. Said they came across a ship in distress and had found Robbie. His mother didn’t make it. He’s a special case. He still thinks he sees her walking around once in a while. Poor child. I’ve doing what I can with him, but it’s such a sad case.”

My goodness… She didn’t know. She really was just an innocent in the middle of this mess. I’d have to press the matter further to know for certain, but I suspected things were going on under Lola’s nose that she had no idea about. Maybe it was the cleavage that blocked her view...

 

[Iglooman]

Lola brought me back to her office in the admin building. As we crossed the courtyard I saw one of the crew keeping us under close eye. I pretended not to notice. Once inside we chatted more about the history behind the operation. She revealed that the her father had claimed the find with the Federation and pointed to the framed claim papers on the wall. I took interest in them and crutched myself over. They were a wealth of information, giving me the system and location finally of my mysterious location - the second planet in Urhoeth system, smack dab between Imperial and Federation space. The claim was registered to a Delbert Tuttle, with Lola named as a secondary finder.

Ok, I knew where I was now, so… How to get help? I was hoping that opportunity would present itself at some point in the next few days while I continued to scrutinize the books. For now, I’d try and get a little more information from Lola, who was very chatty and prone to continuing to call me hot stuff. From our conversation I gathered that she and her father had been explorers for about two years before they came upon this find, at which point her father put in the claim. He found a group of eager miners and they set up this compound. Lola started to tear up as she told me that about five years ago, in it’s seventh year of operation, her father died in the mine, at which point she took over her father’s place as manager of the mine and maintained her position at the orphanage.

“And so you see, with such a good group of men that my father picked out, the mine practically runs itself and I can focus on the orphans more. I try and visit the mine office twice a week, but with you here, maybe I’ll visit more often.” She gave a wink and a suggestive shoulder raise, which in turn brought other points of interest into motion. I tried to stay focused.

“Lola, I’m working through the books as fast as I can, but I think by tomorrow I’d like to meet with you again and discuss some possible improvements that could be made to make the mine run more efficiently and generate more revenue for you. I need to get back to work on the reports though so I can come up with a good plan of action.”

“Ooo, you want to see me again, hot stuff, you got it. I’ll drop by soon. You can return to playing with your numbers for now.” She flashed a high grade smile as she ran her finger down the part in the top of her shirt, peeling back a little more cleavage. “You accountant types sure warm up the office.”

I poured over the report, going back into the years before Lola’s father died. The financial picture was clear - the mine made more back then, much more. It seemed pretty clear that ore was being skimmed off the top and not being shown on the reports. I wondered how much the ‘good men’ had taken Lola for. It didn’t seem like she cared about money, as long as she was able to run her orphanage, but she could do so much more with the profits if she had them. I hoped I could make her see the light tomorrow, then we’d have to come up with a plan while keeping things low key until we could get the plan into effect. I pulled my thoughts away from the day’s events as I laid in my sparse little room. I opened my diary.

My bravest MJ,

Today I met many young children, alone in this universe except for a caring lady here. It was good to see how much they were cared for by this lady and the impact she was having on their lives. She has been using the modest profits of this small mine to save children that are products of disaster. She is their strength when it fails, their bravery when their falter, and their hope when the light dims.

You are so strong, my love, sometimes I fear you have no need of me at all. You have gone through so much, and come out a wonderful woman, whom I miss with all my heart. I should never have left as I did. I should have taken a lesson from you and been strong so i could be by your side when you woke. I know you did, because you’re a fighter. If these kids have have the strength you do, they’ll do just fine.

Even the strongest need a lift up once in a while when they stumble. I’m sorry I have failed to be there for you yet again.

Speaking of stumbling, this place could use a good health and safety supervisor. I think I know just the guy…

With all my strength, Mike.

As I was putting the last letters to ink, my door flew open...

 

[Jenner]

Loud pop music echoed throughout Akashi as Miyako and Velma worked on Elden's Saker. Various clanks, whirs, and electrical snaps punctuated the beats of the song, creating a cacophony of noise that almost made him flinch.

With Elden's help they'd managed to do all of the superstructure cutting that was necessary the day before. That had taken all afternoon, so this morning Jenner and Velma were busy dropping in the new frame shift drive.

Elden approached a hunched over figure who was busy sealing up some holes in the wing left over from the displaced heatsink.

He cupped his hands and shouted. "MIYAKO?"

Velma turned around and shook her head, gesturing to the open engine compartment of the Saker. Glancing up at the gaping hole of the main drive assembly Elden could see Jenner's booted feet sticking out from under the new frame shift assembly. He noticed that Velma was working rather close to Jenner on this job. She must be worried about Miyako after the last incident on the Saker.

He could hear Jenner singing over the loud whiring of her drill.

I'm so fancy
You already know
I'm in the fast lane
From Sol to Achenar
I'm so fancy
Can't you taste this gold?
Remember my name
'Bout to blow

"JENNER!" he shouted. The singing stopped and Miyako scuttled out from under the drive.

"Elden!" she said, wiping her face with a hand. "Good to see you! The FSD is installed and we're buttoning up here." she said, gesturing to Velma.



"Great!" he said.

"I had to purchase some schematics for connectors.... ran it through my 3d printer. It'll add some cost to the project, but not too much. Sorry!" she said, looking apologetic.

"No worries. Just glad you were able to do the work." Elden replied, sticking out his hand for her to shake. She wipped her hand a few times on her shirt then clasped it.

"No problem, Elden." she said, smiling. "This afternoon how'd you like to join me for a little pleasure cruise? I want to shake this out" she said, sticking her thumb out behind her shoulder.

"Sure. Where to?"

"Fairly nearby system. Blue pulsar... lots of unregulated space to open things up and be a little crazy. We'll be back in time for supper." Jenner said, giving him a wink.


Later that day Elden and Jenner took the Saker out for a test drive. The ship was behaving beautifully as they engaged hyperspace and headed for the pulsar system.

"Ok, let's see how this frame shift drives handles. Why don't we circle this planet, " Jenner said, pointing to the nav HUD, "then whip around and head back home. It's far enough out that we can really open it up and see how things go."

Elden nodded and pulled the nose up to head over to the planet Jenner indicated. Jenner monitored the drive from a small auxiliary console seat behind Elden as he navigated. The planet loomed large in the cockpit window as Elden reduced speed, its gravity drawing them in faster.

"Hyperspace bubble is stable. Very little structural stress according to my readings." Jenner said.

 

[Crystles]

Spoiler

Her vac suit was little better than a trashbag with an extended air tank attached to it. It wasn’t much, but the emergency suit was the best thing available on short notice. It didnt help that it was uncomfortably fitted for a guy either. The woman drifted in the void, alone, in a distant slowly degrading orbit above planet’s surface, where even from here she could see the fiery explosion of a capital classed transport still burning down to the surface. The grim look across her face was masked by the shielded visor reflecting the red flames against the otherwise crystal blue planet below. She was just on that transport only a few hours ago. She was the only one that got out. She saw to that personally. With nothing else to focus her senses on, her mind drifted back in time to how she ended up in this mess.

{The transgressions of this occurrence have been recorded in this document. Its my first short, so please check it out!}

And so there she was, floating in space left adrift after having destroyed an entire transport and its crew for doing little more than wanting to bring her head to some victim she had wronged in the past. She couldn’t help but wonder how long her past would follow her like this. She suspected for the rest of her life, however long that would be at this rate. Still… She felt no regret or remorse what so ever as she watched the harsh flash of red as the ship careened through the atmosphere breaking up, its pieces exploding against the planets surface. Feeling satisfied, she activated the distress pinger on her exceedingly cheap vac suit, thankful it even had one; she had forgot to check. With nothing better to do, she folded her arms in front of her, and stared out at the results her checkered past had come to bear against her. Once again, she noted that it left nothing but death, destruction, and more pain, sorrow and vendettas in her wake.

”Damn” she said staring out into the void. ”I could really use a smoke right now…”.

 

[Jenner]

Jenner and Elden cruised through the uninhabited pulsar system as Miyako took readings and adjusted the frame shift drive's performance.

"I'm not a hyperspace bubble expert" she said, laughing, "but it looks like it's doing alright! We're not dead yet, and the ship hasn't flown apart!"

Elden laughed. "I only take my ship to the best repair shops."

As the Saker neared the planet, Elden spoke up over the omipresent background noise of the frame shift drive.

"I'm getting a signal. I thought you said this system was uninhabited?"

"Ah....it's supposed to be! Pulsar interference maybe?" Miyako said, sounding puzzled.

"It's really close. Orbiting this planet. Doesn't look like an echo."

The Saker slowed more, dropping below 1c. As they settled into orbit the mysterious signal cleared.

"This is a distress signal" Elden said. "I'm going to exit frame shift and intercept."

Looking over his shoulder Elden could see Jenner nod, but she didn't look too happy. Mysterious distress signals could be from a legitimate pilot in need of help, or it could be pirates out for easy prey.

"You ok?" he said.

"Yeah. I'm fine."

As the distance between the mystery signal and the Saker contracted Elden was able to resolve the source. "It's an emergency vac suit! Someone ejected! We need to pick them up!"

"Oh, no!" Jenner said. "How long could they have been out here? Are there any other ships around?"

"I don't see anything else. There's a suit aft. I'll get in close. Think you can fetch them?" Elden asked.

Jenner floated aft and donned the spacesuit that Elden had stored there. She tested comms.

"Testing.." she said.

"Gotcha. I'm pulling up beside the ejected pilot."

"Roger. I'll decompress the bay and open the hatch." Jenner replied.

The lights dimmed in the cargo hold as Jenner cycled the main door. A sudden whoosh of air was replaced by eerie silence as the inky blackness of space opened up before her. She could see a floating suit outside, not far from the ship.

"Proceeding." she said, voice shaking.

"Are you sure you're ok?" came Elden's voice over the radio.

"Yeah. Just not a big fan of space walking." she replied. "Almost there...."

Miyako couldn't see inside the helmet of the drifting body, as she was approaching from behind. Grabbing hold of the listing suit, Jenner touched her helmet to the other suit, initiating what suit-to-suit communication. "Hello! Are you alive?!" There was no response. Flipping around the limp suit around so that she could glimpse the occupant, Miyako began to sweat.... she didn't really want to see anything gruesome.

"Oh my god!!" Elden heard over the radio.

"What is it?"

"It's.... it's CRYSTELS!" Miyako shouted.

 

[psykokow]

Agent heard the news that Rollo had been whipped away to fight for the Eranins... he smiled.. .best 100 credits he'd spent...

'I didn't think Rollo was that generous... he must've wanted that free ship really badly' Agent P put his com device down.. 'Must thank him when he gets back... i think it was a 2 year service...'

Frank laughed spraying Janx over the bar, then frantically licking it back up.

 

[GIR_mk_2]

I didn't think Rollo was that generous... he must've wanted that free ship really badly' Agent P put his com device down.. 'Must thank him when he gets back... i think it was a 2 year service...'

Frank laughed spraying Janx over the bar, then frantically licking it back up.

Gir had been sat next to Frank drinking peacefully when he laughed spraying his Janx all over the bar, unfortunately it hadn't just been the bar he had sprayed the alcohol over. Gir sat totally stunned how had frank managed to soak her as well when he was facing the over way

Frank quickly finished lapping the last of the liquid from the bar then sat up, his nose twitched like some kind of animal catching sent of something then he spun to face Gir soaked in his precious alcohol a determined glint appeared in his eyes

"Frank stay the hell away from me I swear....." Gir's voice was panicked but she was cut short in her sentence by the loud sound of Velcro coming unfastened as Frank drive at Gir knocking her to the floor in his mad quest for every last drop of his sprayed drink

A few squeals came from the floor and the sound of lapping then after a few minutes Frank appeared back on his stool like nothing had happened ordering another drink leaving Gir twitching strangely on the floor curled up her arms wrapped around herself blushing from ear to ear

 

[Crystles]

Her little impromptu space walk really wasnt bad at first, at least not until she realized that the cut in her leg had apparently drawn more blood than she had given it credit for. Her drift had only been for about a day, and she realized her orbital decline was much shorter than she had hoped. She had already dumped all the thruster fuel her garbage bag vac suit had to get more out of it, but nobody really designed the things to achieve an orbital vector. It wasnt long after that she had passed out, guessing she'd wake up either a skeleton, or a burnt husk with the rest of the transports crew down on the surface.

The absolute last thing in the world she expected was to wake up in the cargo hold of a ship with two people standing over her, her arm strapped to a post emergency recovery unit revitalizing her with a fresh influx of super nutrients and water.

Her eyes slowly fluttered open, as she tried to blink out the glaring overhead light obscuring her view. She had no idea where she was, and couldnt see who the two figures were, but was obviously in no condition to do anything about it even if she wanted to. After a bit, she realized one of them was talking to her.

"Crystles? ... Cry? Hey, can you hear me? Cry!" the smaller figure spoke. It was familiar, but in her daze she couldnt make it out.

"So, what. You two know each other or something?" The other said. A mans voice.

"YEAH we do! We go way back, its been forever since any one's seen her! Is she okay?" the first one spoke again. She was coming to a bit now, but was still having trouble figuring out who the familiar voice was.

"She should be okay in a few minutes. Long term exposure in her vac suite has left her pretty dehydrated so she'll be weak for a while, but the recovery unit should have her back with us in no time. Who the heck is she? She packed a lot of hardware for some one to be ejecting from a ship..." he said looking over at the gatling railgun and rifle she still had attached to her when they pulled her on board. "... Not to mention that I picked up traces of debris on the planet below us from a large transport of some sort, and a lot of other escape pods but no signals inside them."

Crystles mustered up the strength to mutter a few words, relatively coherently. "Where... Am I...?" she managed to croak out. At this the girl Jenner grabbed her hand enthusiastically, which to her at the moment felt like she was trying to rip it off. Her muscles were extremely stiff and her body didnt want to function when she tried to sit up. With a little help she got there.

"CRY! Its me! Jenner! How are you feeling? Are you okay? What happened? Where were you!?" the girl stammered, bombarding her with questions which made her already aching head feel like it was going to explode.

Looking around she started to take the place in. They had cut the vac suite off and bandaged up the wound on her leg, which apparently had opened itself up again at some point and she never noticed. Her token prizes were also stacked in the corner off to the side. She took in the recovery unit she was hooked into. All standard procedure for recovering an unconscious survivor in an escape suit.

"Ahhh quiet!!! My head feels like it feels like it got hit by an asteroid, and I feel like I just walked away from a train wreck... Jenner... Is that you???" she said, finally taking in the two in front of her. Holy crap, it was! What are the odds...

"Well sh**. I some how knew I'd get picked up by a slaver. Damn glad it was you!" She said with a weak grin.

 

[Cmdr Sharky]

"I took the old bird in for repairs after getting a couple of burn marks off a fed. Turns out I had opened fire on a pirate without checking that she had a bounty first, and the feds are sticklers for that kind of thing. I was double burned 'cos the rat blew up after I clipped her wing, so I never got the creds for the kill either! So anyway I called out'a the hatch to the straw-haired cutie... a young lady in greasy overalls, always going to put a few extra revs on the old red pump... and asked her how much it would be, not that I cared, just an excuse to say something. I knew it was nothing much but I like to keep things tidy. 1 credit for the life support, and 1 credit for the cargo hatch. Two measley credits! How do they make a living like that? I wouldn't crease the seat for less than ten K! I meant to add on a tip when the pay screen came up, but I was tired, the glow from some delinquent rich kid's yacht was washing out the lightscreen, and, well, okay I was watching her bum wiggle as she walked back to her den. I missed the button. Did I ever feel stupid. I'd buy her a drink if I saw her, but she'd probably think I'm some creepy old trucker trying to come on to her. Hell, she might be right, and I'd just make a fool of myself."

 

[Frank]

A few squeals came from the floor and the sound of lapping then after a few minutes Frank appeared back on his stool like nothing had happened ordering another drink leaving Gir twitching strangely on the floor curled up her arms wrapped around herself blushing from ear to ear

Frank was still licking his lips when he noticed all the critical eyes. The old codger voice had the strained pleading of a wrongly-accused man, "Ah ain't dun nothin' wrong. If ah'd left that Janx ta burn on her skin she'd be off seein' Minerva now."

 

[GIR_mk_2]

Gir pulled herself up onto her stool her legs felt weak for some reason, she straightened her clothes and signalled to Sven for a drink for herself and Frank

Sven quickly appeared deposited the drinks and just as fast disappeared again, Gir took a sip from her drink then glanced at Frank who raised his glass in appreciation for the drink. Gir once again blushed remembering what had just happened quickly turning away and facing her feet

She fidgeted awkwardly on her stool trying to stop herself from blushing like a school girl first kissed when she looked at Frank without success as she took another sip of her drink. Finally she cleared her throat and turned to face Frank

"Ehem....Frank about what you just did...er...well thanks for getting the Janx off me it was starting to irritate and....well it didn't feel too bad really" Gir's voice trailed off

Frank took a long drink from his glass before placing it back down "Ain't no problem" The old coder gave his best smile

 

[Frank]

"You know how we founds out 'bout what Janx does ta skin? I wuz in the movies ya know. Not cheap 'B' movie stuff neither. I wuz actin' with Susan Boils! Well, the director weren't too enamoured with mah actin' ability. They said I weren't interested enough in Susan, so they sprays her with Janx. That gots mah attention right enough.

One time they tries that Janx trick but they holds me back while the feller with the clapperboard claps his, er, board. Next thing we knows there's a scream from Susan. She had ta go up ta Minerva with chemical burns."

 

[Iglooman]

“Hey, Hot Stuff”, Lola Tuttle came wafting through the doorway in a silky nightgown carrying a tray with two glasses and a bottle of some brownish liquid I could only assume was alcoholic. “Thought maybe after a hard day’s work maybe you’d want a little nightcap or… Maybe something more?”

The light projected provocatively through her nightgown, giving subtle hints of the body it was trying to hide as its light, thin fabric caressed her curves and made them dance in various shades of the red hues it was imprinted with. She sat on the edge of my bed and I felt her warmth against my leg through the sheet. My body tried to betray me at her warm press, but I willed it into submission as I looked down at the words I had penned to my Jenner. No, my desire would be for her alone.

“A drink?” Lola offered, bringing the tray closer to my hand.

“Umm, no, thanks Ms. Tuttle, I don’t drink alcohol.” I said, using my small book as defence against her further pressing.

“Ah, something more then? I’m sorry, I’m wearing the wrong outfit for ‘Ms. Tuttle’, so call me Lola.” She undid the topmost drawstring on her gown and the impressive divide of her cleavage was revealed, threatening to spill out its entire contents.

“Ah, Ms. Tuttle, Lola, I… Err, You… Umm, You’re very beautiful, but… I…” In my stammering I had brought the book up between us and she finally noticed it and made a grab for it. She leaned back as she opened it and read, and I felt relief at the temporary reprieve from her onslaught. She read for minutes, and I watched her eyes well up before she finally closed the book. I continued, feeling less pressure now, “Lola, you are a very beautiful woman, but my desire is completely for another. I long for her more with every passing day I spend here. I’m sorry, but I only desire to be with her.”

“But, if you love her so, why are you even here and not with her?”

“We need to talk.” I made room in the bed for her to sit comfortably beside me and spilled out the truth. “Lola, I think we need to have a little talk about your mining operation. It’s not that I wanted to come her so much as I’ve been brought here without a choice. My shuttle was hijacked and all its passengers were brought here by the men running your mine.”

I laid out the gruesome facts of the mine and how it got its workers, and the conditions they faced. How they fought and lost their lives simply for a chance at better food. I could see the horror on her face. She would never have stood for such a thing if she had known.

“Lola, if you trust me, I have friends. I’ve seen the figures and I know your mine is putting out more ore than is recorded. They are skimming off the top and putting it in their pockets. The workers don’t get the food or wages that I’m seeing on paper. This mine could make you so much more, and those profits could fund an orphanage three times this size, if not more, with a full staff and teachers for the kids. Trust me and we could get your mine under your control again and you could really make a difference for so many more kids.”

“Really? I could help more?”

“Many more. Tomorrow I’ll show you the reports I’ve been working on. Then we’ll have to figure out how to contact my friends without raising suspicion. Until they arrive, we have to play it smart. If they suspect we’re on to them, they won’t hesitate to put us down. They’ve got too much to lose.”

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Yes. Anything.”

“Some of my orphans… Are they really orphans?”

“No, they are kids that happened to be aboard a captured shuttle.”

Lola burst into tears, and I held her while she emptied herself on my shoulder. When she finally composed herself again, she stood up. “Thanks Mike. Your MJ is a really lucky girl.”

“No, but I’m a really lucky guy. Oh, remember, when we’re together in public, you need to sell it. This didn’t happen tonight. Ok?”

“Yes, I think I understand. I’ll see you at the office tomorrow.” She turned and walked out with a heavier step than when she came in. I didn’t envy Lola Tuttle’s position. She might have a heart of gold, but her lack of interest had left her abused. I couldn’t help but pen a few more words to Miyako.

My captor MJ,

You’ve stole my heart, of that I’m certain tonight. I have no desire except for you. I wish I could make you see it, but I fear my lack of care in this area has led to my abuse of you in the worst possible way. I deserve to be locked away here forever, and I may yet be. My only condolence is that I won’t be free to abuse you again. My only regret is that I’ll never be able to show you that you’re the only one for me.

My heart will never be free to love another, but I don’t care. It is more than enough for me to have only ever loved you, even for a short time in this life.

My heart is eternally your captive, Mike.

 

[Iglooman]

The next day was business as usual. I was pouring over the mine’s long term assets when Lola’s own pair were nearly laid bare on my desk before me. She had unbuttoned her shirt even more than the previous day, and if it hadn’t been for a good support system they surely would have burst the minimal dam holding them back.

“Hey Hot Stuff,” she let the words drip from her mouth with all the sweetness that honey could offer and I felt beads of sweat start to form on my brow. “Do you have a long report of some firm, hard numbers to give me in my office yet?” I caught sight of one of the other office workers, a brown haired lady named Harlene, roll her eyes. My goodness Lola could sell it. To accentuate the fact she ran her finger along her shirtline enticingly drawing attention to the soft bounty that was barely contained.

“Umm, yes, Ms. Tuttle. I have some reports ready for you.” I stammered.

“Oh, good, follow me and let’s see if we can work you into a more intimate position of calling me Lola.” I worked myself up and was never so glad to have crutches and a leg wound to help cover the awkward results of Lola’s advances. I limped to her office where she closed the door to Harlene’s cold stare.

“How was that?” she whispered in my ear as she made her way past me to her chair behind the desk. Her warm breath on my neck didn’t help my already overstimulated body.

“Ah, I think they bought it. Good performance.” I said as she lowered herself into the chair and leaned back. The action caused her bosom to raise slightly and show yet more over her shirt opening. In my seat, under the desk, I pressed my thumb hard into my wound and let the pain it brought overwhelm the stimuli she presented. Focused once again, I put the papers on the desk and started going through the numbers. With the full picture laid out from the time before her father’s death until now, it was easy to show her where the mine should have been bringing in more, especially with the prices her ore should be fetching. Comparing that to her current orphanage expenses and federal benefits, she easily saw how her dreams could be realized in a much bigger way.

“Do you think my father’s death was… an accident?”

“I have no way of knowing, but they put their plan into effect quickly after his death, so it may have been planned well in advance, or even been the cause of his death, yes. Pure speculation.” I was standing behind her now, as we went through a few more of the recent mine spreadsheets I had made. The sound of the doorknob turning interrupted our current train of thought, and before I knew it, her hand was behind my neck and forcing my face firmly into her ample bosom as I tried to resist, but most of my weight was shifted onto my wounded leg and I couldn’t push away.

“MR JONES! How dare you interrupt my special meeting!” I heard her yell, or maybe I felt her yell as her chest reverberated the sound into my skull. She had me clamped in tight and I was being suffocated by the soft flesh that surrounded my face. I was starting to feel light headed and thought there must be better ways to go, but not many, when she released her grip and I lifted my head up, gasping for breath and feeling the expression on my face betraying one of both relief in being able to breath, and delight in the method of near death. I looked at Mr. Jones with a slight cross-eyed looked and small silly grin on my face.

“Ms. Tuttle, sorry to interupt, but shouldn’t you be at the orphanage today, not with this… new employee in administration?”

“Mr. Jones, what I do with my new employee is none of your concern, but if you must know, we were just getting to work on the only joy I find on this piece of rock!”

“Ms. Tuttle, the kids need you.”

“Exactly, and we were just about to discuss how my orphanage could run more efficiently! I am rather glad for Mr… Ah, Mike’s talents here, and he’s rather good at organizing small business too! With him on the case, we might be able to afford a teacher for the kids! No if you’ll excuse us, we have important work to attend to!”

My head was thrust down into Lola’s soft bosom again as the fleshy mounds reverberated a “GOOD DAY!” at Mr. Jones. I managed a few fake sloppy kiss sounds and then was released shortly after the door closed again. I flopped down in my seat exhausted from lack of air. “Good coverup, but I’m… only… MJ.” I wheezed at Lola.

She only smiled with a wink and said “Purely professional, my dear Mike. Think nothing of it.” as she went to button up her shirt and found that the next button in line had popped off. “Mike, you need to be less of an animal!” I simply stared at her open mouthed...

 

[psykokow]

Agent P felt bad about poor Rollo serving in his stead.

'Yes hello, is that Federal Office of Identity theft?'

The agent detailed his situation

'So you will retrieve this imposter and deal with this service he's signed up for in my name? ' there was a considered pause 'Good!! Thanks that's great'

'Ainst dey gunna 'rest Rollo?'

'Maybe, but He can escape a federal cell easier than Eranian service..'

Sven slid two glasses over to AP, who slid one to Frank..

'To Rollo and Federal prison'

Frank smiled and downed his Janx..

 

[MikeSnos]

Snos wanders in and picks a corner seat and starts writing his Tesco shopping list.

 

[Jenner]

Jenner shuddered as she entered medbay, crossing her arms over her chest. She hated being back in here. Far too many times since she came to this station she'd wound up hospitalized. She looked up at the ceiling, giving a mocking glance at the gods above, who seemed to have a sick sense of humor.

"Hello, Cry." she said, coming up beside the bed in which her old friend, Crysteles, now lay. The ex-pirate turned her head to look at her visitor, dragging some oxygen tubes that were stuck in her nose.

"Damn doctors. Always love making their patients suffer." she groaned. "And that Hayes refused to share a cig.... the *******."

Jenner chuckled, taking a seat and reaching out to clasp Cry's hand.

"He's alright. He helped me several times when I've been here." Jenner said, stroking Crystle's hand.

Cry smiled feebly. "Don't get all mushy on me, Princess. And thanks for not selling me into slavery when you picked me up."

"I don't run many slaves these days" Jenner said, letting go of Cry's hand. "Actually I get by pretty well now with my repair shop."

"Really. Gave up trading?"

"Well... it's not so lucrative with just an old Eagle." Jenner sighed. "And besides, I guess I've put down some roots here."

"Yeah? What's his name? Do I have to go kill him for messing around with my 'sister'?" Cry grinned.

"Hah! No.... well, maybe. Between Mike, Illu, and Justin.... god, Cry, I don't know." Jenner said, shaking her head. "Love is too damn complicated."

"That's why I swore off it."

"Well... and I found my own sister, believe it or not!" Jenner said. "But... I've heard that she's dead now, too. I hope that's a lie... I don't really trust my uncle and all that court intrigue."

Jenner reached over and ran her fingers through Crystel's hair in a effort to straighten it out.

"Hey!" Cry protested, reaching up to push the small Imperial away.

"Oh, be quiet, Cry! Just because you're a bad ass doesn't mean you need to look like an ass..."

Both women laughed. Jenner was glad to see Crystels again after all this time. She'd lost too many already.