“We have robots and machines that build and lift everything. The heaviest thing I lift is my dinner tray. He has had to do far more work than we do; his arms, abs, and legs are sturdy and powerful. I think I can see what these women are feeling. I can’t imagine having him stick that in me, but I’m getting more and more interested in giving it a try.”
Tammi and Tamara both give an “Oh!” of surprise.
Tamara seems dubious, “Yeah, right. That’s gross. No way you could stand to have his slime swishing in your female temple. Think of the pain. Mom told us it’s like being stabbed with a knife.”
I laugh about as hard as I ever have.
When I stop, I spit out, “Your mom obviously has never been with a man. You know your history. Because of shifts in the world’s ecology, fewer men were born over several generations. Women outnumbered men and slowly took over the world by voting women into office and then changing the laws, so our rights as men were slowly taken away. Even back then, men were highly sought after for the pleasure they can bring to women.
“As our numbers continued to decline, the rich told the poor that men hurt women, and sex was unnecessary because of medical procedures. Over the years, they believed it. Men take time to get good at sex, thus the various levels of men. I am already a Level Five because my family taught me before being killed. I can assure you; sex is fun for both parties. It’s the most fun you will ever have in your life. Why do you think only wealthy women can afford it? They want it that way, so they get it more often.”
Tamara smiles, “OK, mister sex master, why are you running a freighter? If sex was so good, wouldn’t you rather do that? I find your whole story a farce. Mom was right.”
A sizeable puffy chair shows up; I sit in the chair, lean back, and use my hands to cover my eyes so they can’t see me cry.
I tell my story, “My first mother was a stripper and whore for rich women. A woman gave her a tip of a child. She cashed it in and got stuck with me. For my eighteenth birthday, I was rented out to a women’s party. They did all kinds of horrible things to me. I was in the hospital for a month. When I got back, women wanted me. It was bad. I got beat up. My mom and two other performers had sex with me at night and taught me to be awesome for them.”
“Management caught on; because I progressed too fast. They came to our house and killed mom. I did not respond well and hit the two ladies.” All three sisters jerk from shock. “Yeah, I know, the death penalty for striking a woman. The house security system reported my crime to the local authorities. I took off, hoping to somehow get off the planet. I figure fifteen minutes, and I will be picked up because they are tracking me.
“Hackers saw the messages to the Police and caused a surveillance outage. Mom #2, Mary Cross, grabs me and makes me her slave. I work for her for several years before using my first mother’s money to buy a crappy freighter. Mary was a good customer of mom, so I spent a lot of time working for Mary. She’s the one that bought me for the party.”
I get up, open the door and walk to the bridge. My door is immediately removed while mom’s wall is rolled up simultaneously.
Chapter 7 – YES
Tammi’s point of view:
Tammi says, “I want to fuck him now.”
I forgot mom’s wall is gone.
Mom is in a rage; she wisely doesn’t touch me; she has learned her lesson.
Mom seethes at me, “NO, YOU WON’T! I will not lose my daughter to that man’s hands. He’ll KILL you!”
Trudy saves me the effort, “Oh please, mom. Could he have killed us already? I think so. Why wait until now to kill us? No, this is about you. You’re afraid that he might be as good as we believe him to be, and we start to like him more than you.”
Tamara adds, “On this trip and so far in the negotiations, he has been far more useful than you have been. We would be dead if we relied on you. Cut the crap. We all want to try him out. You have been in your room a lot and have missed a lot. He has been around us, helped our mission, and is at least three steps in front of you.”
I think back on our time together in bed, “I find him refreshingly different. He is kind and funny while not giving a damn that we are princesses. You provoked him, and he put you in “time out.” Would you have been as forgiving with him? No way and you know it. If you didn’t toss him out the door, you would have run him through the garbage disposal.”
Zai adds, “Tim values life more. It’s what makes him different. Mary and your mom would have thought nothing of snuffing his life out; he is just a man, after all. Not worth paying attention to. Not worth saving. Not worth talking to? Would you see him in a different light if he had not saved your life? He is the same man; you have gone from uncaring to relying on him. I find it interesting.”
I defend us, “It’s actions or inactions that define people. I would like to believe that Tim on his own, has shown us he is something special.”
Zia counters, “Why is he still running a cargo ship?”
Trudy looks sad, saying, “Because, in space, he doesn’t have women constantly demeaning him. He would rather be left alone.”
Mom shocks me by saying, “That’s a sad life.”
I know she will hate me, but I say it anyway, “That’s that life you gave him. You couldn’t be bothered to even be a mother. Why would anyone else treat him any better?”
I am saved by a loud “Whaaaaap! Waaaaap!” alarm. The door no longer exists, making it easy for all of us to run out of our rooms, up the metal stairs, and walk onto the bridge.
Tim is in his chair; his feet are up on the console. He isn’t concerned at all.
Tim asks Zai, “Zoom in, please. I want to verify these are pirates and not the Federated Protection Force (FPF). It’s bad form to kill the people that are paid to protect us.”
I shout out, “Where are your joysticks, so you can defend us?”
He ignores me. I am borderline hysterical; I don’t want to die. No, they won’t kill us; they will take us hostage. We don’t have time for this.
Zai says before I can verify, “Sixteen pirates, Tim!”
Tim remains calm, “Play it defensive. Use your mirrors defensively to slow them down.”
Zai exclaims, “I can’t stop multiple shots from that many.”
Tim is still calm, “I want them to hit us. A few will test your defenses. They will all pause when you use their own lasers to kill them from the reflection. The downside is they will start using other weapons. Every minute, use a single laser to take one of them out. Their computers will assume that’s our maximum, coordinate an attack on us, and by then, you will have killed enough that we will be fine.”
Needless to say, the fight went exactly as Tim predicted, and we won. The pirates held back, testing his ship. By taking damage, they assumed he was far weaker than he was. By limiting his offense, it sucked them in. It was a short fight after that.
I ask, “So, what do you do next time? They had to send out messages about this fight as it started going badly.”
Tim grins, “As soon as we see them, the first rule of engagement is to jam their long-range communications. I need them using local coms, but you’re right, I don’t want them learning about us. We’re a bigger ship. They’re going to be naturally cautious. By slowly killing them, they rushed us, thinking they could overwhelm us. They failed.”