Chapter 6

As Chancellor, my life was as busy as any chief executive of a large operation, especially one with the two solar systems of the Cojourn under his own direct governance and over twenty other worlds, the ones who made up the Alliance, under the Chancellorship indirectly.

We made most of my business trips as a family, since Princess Gwyneth of Thordast, a member of the Alliance, would be considered the First Lady of the Cojourn, and Lady Clarise was an Alliance Ambassador At Large, not to mention my most trusted advisor. During this time, Georgia was needed to transport us here and there, and the girls were needed to make sure we got from point to point with all of our things. In that regard, they were a Godsend. As young as they appeared, they were adults in every sense, and as adept at organization as any two women, short of Clarise, I had ever seen.

We lived, and loved, as a family for close to a year when the decision was made to head back to Thordast and Fairland to attend our wedding. As directed, Princess Gwyneth had commissioned a beautiful light blue wedding gown. A seriously sheer peignoir like overcoat, a silk, boned and structured, underwired corset, silk shorts with no cuff or belt seam, light blue sheer to waist pantyhose, with a white backseam, and silver strapped five-inch platform high heeled sandals completed the outfit. She was illustrious and dressed in the most modern way. She could have, and might have, graced the cover graphic of ‘Weddings and Gowns Magazine’.

When we were getting the spacecraft out of orbit around Concord and preparing to take the hyper drive launch in the direction of Thordast, we were hailed by the CCIG Operations Desk.

“Chancellor, we may have a problem arising with one of the Alliance worlds. You recall Gorthon and Gorthon Two? They’re out a little farther than Thordast, but only by a few systems. Will you have a couple of days in your schedule to meet with Vice Admiral Stanton? He’s orbiting Gorthon Two, the larger of the Concord-like planets in the Gorth solar system.”

“I’m sure we will, Captain. We have about ten days built into the schedule after our arrival, since your soon to be First Lady wanted to take us around a bit, sightseeing before the wedding. Do you have any idea what is going on?”

“You’ll need to get more specific information through the messaging system and from the Admiral, sir, but in a nutshell, we have a non-member world, humanoids from a system believed to be three or four stars out from Gorth, attempting to talk the Gorthon people into handing over their women, children, and natural resources, to include their water and the air.”

“The Gorthonians aren’t very advanced. Do we know who these intruders are?”

“Does the name Tinduu mean anything, sir? Possibly Lady Clarise has heard of them in her travels? In any case, we have nothing on them, except that they appear to be classic human with slight differences.”

“The name doesn’t ring a bell. The Ambassador says she doesn’t remember anything, either. What kind of differences, Captain?”

“Again, sir for specifics, you’ll need to read the Admiral’s report, but it seems like they are all female and have blue and purple hair. Their skin tends to be fair, and begging the Princess’ pardon, every damned one of them seems to be as pretty as she is.” Gwyneth started laughing. “I’ve seen some of the comms monitor screen shots the Admiral sent back for analysis, and I’m willing to verify they’re not the average bunch of sailors, sir. By the time you get there, it’s possible the Admiral will know if it’s a female crew, or if that is all their race consists of.”

“Interesting. Captain, have your people run a visual comparison with the Barahngan women. They have similar hair colors. Maybe that will lead to something. They are only a few light years toward Plassen from Gorth. They are humans, too, and the women are extremely attractive. At least to us. From what I heard once, their men are dissatisfied with their appearance of late, but ... To each his own.”

“Will do, sir. May I tell the Admiral you are on the way, Chancellor?”

“Please do, Captain. Tell him I’ll be contacting him directly. Well, as soon as we drop out of hyper drive near the Gorth system.”

“Yes, sir. Thank you, sir, and God’s speed to you and yours.” The screen went dark.

“Hmmmm,” I heard Clarise mumble, seeing her chin resting on her fist as she sat at the map table on the bridge. “I need to do some reading and study a couple of the old myths and lore from ages past. I’ll bet a fresh chicken sandwich there is a relationship there. Charlie, I think you may be on to something.”

The Regency Valor, in hyperdrive, was able to get to the Gorth system in a day and a half, and as soon as we dropped out of hyper drive, I hailed the Admiral.

“Stanton here. Is that you, Chancellor?”

“Yes, Admiral. Do you have any additional information for us?”

“Not really. I have a ship full of models attempting to talk the Gorthon civilization out of its survival mechanisms. Nothing serious.” He chuckled.

While I knew the situation was serious, there was no reason not to share a moment of humor with the forces that were protecting the very people that were being threatened.

“Well, that’s definitely going to make it harder to shoot at them, isn’t it, Frank?”

“Not that much. Their tone of voice is pretty cocky. Pretty or not, these women are trouble. I’d like to have Lady Clarise help me with some conversations, if that is at all possible.”

Clarise jumped on the chance. “Frank, Clarise. Let’s do some three-way discussions right now. I have the newest translation algorithms on board Valor. Charles thought maybe they are descendants of the Barahngan. If so, we may be able to work something out without you killing a bunch of girls qualified to be entertainment content models.”

“Let’s do it. I’ll hail them now. Chancellor, please have your ship’s comm crew handle the connection once established. Valor has much more robust capabilities than Fortitude does.”

“Done.”

The Regency Valor crew played switchboard operator, and within thirty seconds, Clarise was talking, albeit through a translation module, with the all-female crew of the Tinduu attack cruiser Poluu. The translation wasn’t a hundred percent clear, but the module learned as it went, so that would change over the course of the discussions.

A lot of information was gleaned from the conversations. The women were assigned to the vessel and told to find an inhabited planet and plunder it for their men, taking all the loot home, or they would be killed. They were told to bring female humanoids, small humanoids of either gender, any precious metals, copious amounts of water, and as much air as could be compressed into their air holds. If they didn’t return, their ship would be hunted down and disintegrated with the crew on board.

Tinduu was a patriarchal society where women were expendable and plentiful. For the last five hundred years, more girls were born than boys, at a rate of close to five to one.

“Are you always hostile?” Clarise asked their Captain, a woman named Willaw.

“Our lives are in danger if we do not do as our leaders say. No, normally we eat, sleep, work, and raise our children if we are so graced.” Willaw went on. “Normally, we patrol our space and make sure the Docken do not raid our planet. Since the Docken cause problems, we must find sustenance and slaves to serve our men and help fight the Docken. This is not our choice; it is our assignment. Meet the goals or die. I choose to live. May I take your bounty now?”

“No, I’m afraid not, Willaw. My name is Clarise. Lady Clarise Allison. May I ask some questions?”

“If we may trade so that I know more before we fight, that would be fine.”

“Not a great way to look at things, but let’s start. Do your people have just one name, or do you also have a second name that delineates a family, or tribe?”

“One name unless it is necessary to delineate, as you say. If there was another Willaw on board my vessel, they would be Willaw the lesser, since I am the captain of the vessel and in such cases the highest value person living onboard. Are you going to keep us from taking our bounty thereby sacrificing our lives to our leaders?”

“Yes, and no. We will neither allow you to take the Gorthonian peoples, not their goods, nor their environmental elements, nor allow you to perish because your leaders sent you to do terrible things to our friends.”

“Your friends?”

“Yes! We have a large alliance of neighboring peoples and species of different types that have banded together to keep bandits like you and your crew from killing and stealing and plundering our members.”

“Oh. What are we to do now? Are we to fight, or do you expect me to surrender my crew and my ship since you have said we would not perish? Can you provide us with a home? With food and water? With air? What will we do?”

I had to break in and offer something. Clarise was about to start laughing at the situation. That would not have been a good thing, I don’t think. “Willaw, I am Charles, Chancellor, or leader, of our alliance that protects all of our friendly civilizations. You have not yet committed any serious crimes, other than demand that which your leaders have told you to demand. If you will agree to disarm your vessel and try a peaceful solution, I can find homes for your crew, and will take your ship in return for your lives, and very possibly your happiness. Do you know happy?”

“Happy as in laughter and singing?”

“Yes, Willaw, that kind of happy.”

“We have not seen that kind of happy at home for many years, but sometimes we are happy here on my vessel with each other. You can offer happy, Chancellor Charles?”

“No promises, but I can offer you a chance to try to be happy and a place to do it.”

“Wait for some clicks, please.” She looked around the bridge of her ship and said to her people, “Are you all ready to leave a bad place and trust someone that says they will not kill us if we fail?” Everyone around her nodded. “We accept your offer. Please tell us what to do now, and we will be happy with you. You are strong, Chancellor Charles, and pretty. You will be happy with me, yes?”

Clarise started laughing. I looked at her sternly, then turned away from the monitor and smiled. Clarise shrugged. I looked at Gwyneth and saw eyes wider than the Concordia sky on a clear day. Georgia looked at the floor and kept silent.

“Ma’am, that is very presumptuous. We can talk about that, Willaw, but I have an intended spouse and four concubines already. Would you want to be at the bottom of my list of females?”

“I am female number nine for my leader now. Being number six would be a promotion. Are these women I see near you part of your pen?”

“My pen?” Willaw nodded. I’ve heard the terms stable, and harem, but pen? “Yes, Captain Willaw, this woman here, Princess Gwyneth of Thordast, is my betrothed. She is to become my wife. Lady Clarise Allison, Commodore, of Magnus Major, is my confidant and my best friend. Georgia Bright, Commander, over there, is our protector, friend, and lover, and the two little urchins with Gwyneth are Lina and Mina, our precious delights, carnal treats, and little helpers.”

“I will be number six if you will have me, but we must find pens for my crew as well. They are not bad females, Chancellor Charles, if one does not consider them failing in this mission. Each of them can be wet and receptive.”

“We can, and must, discuss this further. We will take you and your crew and help you all survive a sure fate of death, since there is no way we will allow you to harm, or take, our friends or destroy their environment and therefore their planet. May we dock your vessel aboard my ship and discuss the final portions of our plan?”

“Yes. Please have your helm advise my helm, unless you have the retractor beam of the green animals.”

I looked at Clarise and Georgia. Both had their interest piqued by Willaw’s comment about a tractor beam. We’d heard of them, mostly in science fiction works, and naturally, everyone wanted to invent one, but as of yet, in the known universe, no one had. “No, we’ll have your ladies navigate into the bay, then we’ll talk about your survival, and of course, the retractor beams of the green animals.”

“Helm, obey their commands!” Willaw said, then sat in her little captain’s seat and smiled.

My crew guided them in, easily, since directions were the easiest to translate. Once they were in the large bay aboard the Regency Valor, we found out just how small their ship was, and just how many crew members were aboard. The ship fit nicely in the bay, with not much room to spare, but it fit, settling on small skids under the superstructure and the engine pods. The sixty-two women who disembarked the craft were, in fact, all sensual entertainment content attractive. Their hair ranged from light blue to dark purple, and their skin was mostly very fair, to just slightly tan.

Their dress was modern, similar to what our women wore in a social environment. Skintight high waisted shorts and halter tops were common, midriffs being exposed on all but what seemed to be the engineering crew. Three of their number were wearing tight short sleeved and short legged body suits. Smudges adorned the knees and forearms of two of those ladies. The dirty girls were happy, though, so that must account for something. The engineering crew wore flat trainers while most of the bridge personnel wore high heeled sandals. There was another cadre of ladies wearing the shorts and halter tops with trainers, however, and many of these were wearing gun belts and sidearms. In any case, there were only women on board the ship. Very pretty, very well-dressed women. Emblems discerning rank, or position, or some such, were worn above the left breast. What appeared to be a nametag was above the right breast but was scripted in an unknown language.

“Welcome to the Regency Valor, Captain Willaw. I hope we can come to an agreement for your safety and long-term wellbeing.” One of my crewmembers was with us, actually shadowing Clarise, with the portable translator. The translator took what I said, then repeated it in the Tinduu tongue.

Willaw spoke, then walked toward me while the translator repeated her words for us. “Thank you, Chancellor Charles. I think it would be best if you greet me properly, then eject my vessel into the darkness of the void. If my leaders placed a kill box on my ship, it might also harm you and yours. That would not be good while we are attempting to become your thralls.”

She approached me, put her arms around my waist, and kissed me in the middle of my chest. Not knowing the appropriate response, I kissed the top of her head. I heard her moan, very quietly, and shiver oh so slightly. She looked up at me and smiled, then spoke. The translator repeated, “Close enough.”

“Good idea, but do you have anything on board you might need?” Clarise asked. The translator took care of its job and shared Clarise’s words in the Tinduu tongue.

Willaw barked some orders, the translator, repeating, “Retrieve our personal belongings, all of the technical manuals, all of the weapons, and the providence case,” then about twenty of the women ran back onboard and in about fifteen minutes, there was a stack of bags and boxes, and rifles and pistols, as well as a huge set of manuals sitting on the bay floor. One of the boxes, long and flat, carried by two women who previously were armed, was placed at Willaw’s feet. The women struggled to lift and carry the case.

“Our providence case. I present to you as our captor.” Willaw knelt, opened the combination locks on the latches, then pulled the top back toward her, opening it to our surprised looks. It was full of some type of currency, precious metals, and jewels. Diamonds, rubies, and emeralds must be universally accepted as rare and valuable. It appeared that gold, silver, platinum, or similar substances were also among the contents. “In case we all are lost, and we need to pay for our survival. It is now yours, as the victor of our battle.” She smiled at me. I returned it, then shook my head.

“Lieutenant Maxwell, have two of your guys carry this box and put it in Colonel Bright’s quarters. I think it will be safe there.”

“Yes, sir, will do. Miller, Wilson. Hop to.” They weren’t the lowest ranking people on his detail, but I think they might have been the biggest.

“Willaw, please latch and lock the case. I will store it for the time being. I do not, at this time, accept it as the prize for the plundering of your vessel. It will be secure until such time as I make a determination into its disposition.”

“Follow me, please,” Georgia said to the captain. “All of you. The ship needs to be checked out before we expel it into the darkness of the void.” I don’t think Georgia was being snarky, but just using Willaw’s words so she’d understand the actions.

The entire crew followed Georgia to a small staging area we had for troops where they prepared for debarkation aboard shuttles and such. It was perfect for the occasion. Interestingly, they didn’t pick up the weapons or the manuals when they picked up everything else. My guard force took care of the weapons, and the bay maintenance personnel put the manuals on a little cart and took them into the offices for inspection.

Admiral Stanton boarded by way of a docking hatch and brought his engineering staff along for the vessel inspection. A walk-through of their ship didn’t tell us anything new. They had faster than light drives, but not to the level of ours, it didn’t seem. Maybe early technology warp drives, but not the hyper velocity drives that could let them navigate hundreds of light years in short periods of time. A short conversation with their engineering, navigation, and helm personnel proved us correct. Given known distances between locations, their ability to travel those distances were a tenth or so of ours, with respect to time over distance traveled.