RICK JOHNSON

LOST ON EARTH

by: Rick Johnson
PO Box 40451
Tucson, Az.
85717
RikJohnson@juno.com

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warning: this story contains graphic sex, violence and politics. By continuing you agree to al lthat legalstuff about being adult, allowed to read this and not getting upset.

I

Stargates are not my friend. Maybe it’s because when the Demons abducted me, they changed me to understand technology so I could repair their starships and Stargates are more art than technology. Or maybe after the changes made to me by the Demons, the Kris and even the English, I am so screwed up inside that I cannot focus properly and much of Stargate use is desire. Or maybe god is really pissed off with me because I stopped believing in him and he is taking his revenge by messing with my life. Who knows.

The result is that I am here, alone, in what appears to be a semi-desert planet with air that smells polluted and barely breathable and my own starship who knows how many light years away.

The Demons preferred to visit only Class-M worlds similar to their own, hence their all too frequent visit to Earth to abduct people like me. The Mon and Weir, however, preferred to find a useful world, scatter some cookers around the planet and terra-form it into a world that resembled the Earth that they had left a thousand years ago. Each used and built Stargates to reach these worlds so the options were enormous.

For me, I haven’t seen Earth in more than twenty years since the Demons abducted me from my native Ireland, save that one trip which was a disaster. Humanity was extinct, the cities in ruins, large areas of the planet radioactive and the lands inhabited by the carnivorous predatory cockroach that had survived the dinosaurs and humanity and now ruled the planet of my birth.

So I could be almost anywhere in the Galaxy, almost anywhen in time for the Stargates used the mass-time-velocity Triad and so went wherever the Relativity Curve allowed.

At least the gravity was normal, the air breathable, the temperature bearable and I hadn’t been eaten by a local animal yet. So those were a plus. But the temperature was cool and would drop in the dark and my clothing was made for modesty, not warmth. Strange how when I had been taken, I was naked, stripped by English soldiers for their use, and the Demons saw no reason to dress me. The S’tyr on shipboard habitually went about naked and they were descended from humans so it took me days to convince the aliens to let me wear clothing. Even then, what I was given were pants and shirt designed for a six-legged warm-blooded lizard that I had to re-sew to my own frame. Fortunately, the silk-cotton blend was easy to adjust and soon I was dressed in pants and shirt that my parents would have seen as scandalous, for women in 17th century Ireland wore only long dresses and never pants.

So, priorities. Dammit! I had never been trained for this. My parents raised me to be a good Irish girl, to marry whom they chose and bear him sons to fight the English. The Demons taught me to repair their starships and Brount, that Warrior-Monk, taught me to fight and think but no one thought to teach me how to live on a strange planet. I knew how to spin and weave and sew. I could milk a cow, plant and dig potatoes and sheer sheep. I could build a starship from parts and even make those parts if I must. I could fight with bow, sword and hands and even a pistol or rifle. I spoke a half dozen languages and had done things since my abduction that would cause my parents would lock me in Bedlam were I to tell them but something so simple as to which direction I should now walk eluded me.

Forcing myself to relax, I focused, activated my comm-implant and sent a message for my starship. It would eventually receive the message and travel here on auto-pilot, a gift of the Demons, but would it arrive today, next year or in a century, I had no idea. Fortunately, the Demons gave me a very long life so all I had to do was stay alive long enough for either my ship or some passing Demon to arrive. Then, I relaxed again, turned and when my antennae picked up e-m fields, I chose that as the best direction, for technology implies advanced sentients so I started in that direction.

It was dark by the time I heard the music but darkness didn’t mater much for my eye-slits opened and I could see under this New Moon as easily as were it a bright Full. The music was loud and I didn’t understand how anyone could talk or avoid deafness at that volume. Also I couldn’t understand the lyrics and the bass was a constant drumming that set my teeth on edge.

Over a rise was a bonfire that burned away my night vision. My IR-sight could make out the heat signatures around the fire but they were drowned in the main glare and I couldn’t tell what race or species they were. I did smell wood smoke, alcohol, and something acrid to my nose, and barely audible was conversation and singing so this was a party. Parties were nice as they showed a people who enjoyed life and would welcome visitors so I approached, happy to meet with civilization. With a technical world, I could send a better signal, contact the Fleet or the Demons and enjoy my stay here until rescue.

“Good Evening!” I called in Spanglic as I entered the light.

Conversation ceased but the music continued to blare out. I was still night blind but could make out bipeds, then humans. Humans! Not the modified Mon, not the strangely evolved S’tyr, not even the engineered Weir but humans. This was wonderful. My own people. Most were men but a few half naked women stared at me. “Hello, I am lost,” I started then hell broke loose. Weapons appeared and the men surrounded me, some searching the darkness, others focusing on me. These were drunk and there was something else that made their thoughts confused and almost unintelligible to my telepathy so I tried to broadcast friendship hoping they’d calm down.

Then one said, “Cops! Burn the stash!” then another asked, “What the fuck are you! Look at her! She has a fucking tail!”

Another, “Forget the tail, look at the tits. Wait, see her feet, she’s a fucking monkey.”

“Maybe she fucks like a monkey too. Get her!”

English language! Damn! I was in England and the last time I met these kind they gang-raped and shot me. I refused to let that happen again so the first who grabbed me received a dislocated shoulder and a broken neck as he tore my shirt away for the Demons had made me easily twice as strong as a human male. They had enhanced my body not for me but because it helped me be a better slave to them. And with the martial arts Brount had taught me, I killed another before their weapons fired. Stitchers, I felt the bullets strike me over and over. One or two I could easily absorb but dozens hit and still they fired as I went down.

Dammit! Ireland again! Rape, murder, my mother sold into whoredom, my father hanged and my home burned. All I wanted to do was to escape and kill these who took everything I loved from me. Revenge! Revenge filled my mind and soul for I hated the English for what they did to my country, my family, me and I couldn’t move. Helpless like when those soldiers raped me. Helpless like when the Demons changed me. Helpless like when the Kris infected me… Their voices faded but I could still hear, “I want her tail for a souvenir.”

I felt the change happen, distant as if I were an observer. Bones shifted, teeth grew, wounds healed and this time, I allowed it to happen. This time I wanted the change.

Fear! I smelled fear and loved that scent. Fear made the meat taste better.

Smoke and sounds! Bullets striking my new form, knocking me to the ground. My pelt absorbing much of the force then recovering. One came to me and I reached for the meat.

Screams as I snapped bones like twigs. I stood and more bullets but the Kris did well when they created this form to kill Demons. I slashed and felt blood spray from an opened throat. I leapt and tore another with my fangs, drinking the blood that helped me heal.

More screams but no more bullets. On four feet I hunted. Killed and ate. They were prey, the scent of their terror flavoring the meat. Then there were no more. I searched, seeking more by scent and found another in a vehicle. The female meat was screaming as she played with the controls. I took the door and ripped it from it’s hinges, pulled the meat and standing erect, held it before me. Urine ran down it’s legs and I bit, savoring the blood as it rushed from severed juggler’s into my mouth. I drank, feeling bullets fall from my body as her blood, her flesh added to my own, healing me.

I ate, then thirsty, sought water.

II

I ached. I didn’t hurt much but my entire body ached as did my head. It was almost like I had been rolled down a hill in a barrel.

“Doctor, she’s awake.” A voice said in English. English, I was still in England then. And doctor meant a hospital. I tried to get up, to escape but the nun held me down too easily. “Calm down dear, you’re safe.”

“Safe,” I cried in her language, “People go to hospitals to die.”

Others entered and then held me down as one injected something into a tube that ran into my arm. “Stop, please don’t hurt me. Please no more…” then I started to drift.

“Patient exhibits paranoia and slurred speech. Recommend transfer to a psychiatric hospital.” The man in a lab coat was speaking as he wrote. I saw no blood on him but that only meant he changed it. Then a woman interrupted.

“Doctor, she’s not incoherent, she’s foreign.”

He turned back and looked closer. “How do you know?”

“My grandmother had the same accent. That’s how they used to talk in Ireland. She’s Irish, probably from a small town considering the archaic form she talks. Dear,” she asked me, “Do you know your name?”

I saw no reason to lie but had to be careful. English soldiers had gang raped me, shot me. English doctors did horrible experiments on Irish in their hospitals and any Irish woman in Bedlam soon begged for death. “Eighlin Inghean Ui Bhrian.”

“Where were you born?”

“Near Belfast, Ireland.”

“How long have you been in America?”

“America? The Colonies? I don’t know. Maybe a couple of hours. What happened to me?’

“In a moment. Where are your parents?”

“My mother was taken, sent to the Colonies, America, when I was fifteen. My father died when I was seventeen.” I decided to not tell them that the English had hanged my father as a rebel.

“Excuse me, it’s ok.” She started to undo my gown or whatever I was wearing.

“Are you going to rape me?”

She laughed, “Why would you think that?”

“That’s what the English to do Irish girls.”

Concern was in her face, “This isn’t England and besides, I’m Irish too. My name is Doctor Campbell and my grandparents were from Belfast too. I won’t let anyone hurt you.”

She was Orange, Irish who sold their souls and country to the British for their titles and gold, fighting against their own people but she could be used. “Eileen, these injuries, Dr Smith says they are old bullet holes, how did you receive them?”

“English soldiers. They wanted my body and shot me.”

“What do you remember, about yesterday I mean.”

“Yesterday? I was lost, trying to find my way when these people… they took me and tore my clothes, they wanted to pass me around. They had weapons, hand-guns and I, I don’t remember much else.”

She replaced my gown then turned to the male doctor and they conversed, not caring that I could hear. “There it is. Five foot tall, ninety-five pounds, maidenhood intact. From her height and weight, the firmness of her breasts and her state of virginity, she’s probably eighteen at the most though badly bruised from the beatings she received. Born in a small town still set in the old ways, probably never had electricity either. Shot by British troops in Belfast as a child, loosing her mother at fifteen then her father dieing a couple years later, she probably came to the States seeking her lost mother and the instant she arrived here, she’s kidnapped by a gang of drug dealers and almost gang-raped but she barely managed to get away. No wonder she’s in shock. My grandmother told me similar horror stories about when she lived there. I don’t doubt she’s terrified of us. I recommend that she rest tonight then tomorrow she can talk to the police.”

“Agreed. Eileen,” the male doctor asked, “Do you need something to help you sleep?”

I fought down panic and said, “I don’t. I can manage as I am. Thank you,” I had to force that last for who knows what they’d do to me when I was helpless. The Demons changed me into a Weir, the Kris into a werewolf. These Americans were English colonials so they were probably the same.

They left and the nun asked, “Can I get you anything?”

“Please sister, water.”

She poured me a glass and said, “You’re Catholic. I’m not a nun and this isn’t a Catholic hospital. Call me Nurse Betty.” I was beginning to see the differences as the drugs they gave me wore off. Her uniform wasn’t a habit but pants and pull-over shirt, pastel green it looked like. She held my wrist feeling for my pulse as she watched a device on her wrist. I looked around and asked, “What are you putting into me?”

She made some notes on a chart and said, “Saline. Salt water. You were dehydrated when they brought you in so we are giving you fluids. Don’t worry, everyone gets those and they are harmless.”

I tried to estann her motives but nothing. Then I noticed that she had no aura and her skin was white without the color changes from heat flows. My vision was restricted to what it was before the Demons changed me. I looked at my hand, seeing the needle taped to a vein and saw it human. My lateral thumb was gone and I now had four fingers. Fine hairs covered the back and arm, hairs I hadn’t seen in a dozen years. I tried to move my tail but it as gone too. I appeared to be human again for some reason. “What happened to me?”

Misunderstanding, the nurse explained, “The police raided a drug party and found a bunch of kids dead, torn apart by wild dogs. There was alcohol and drugs and the kids had guns because there were bullets all over. The police followed the dog tracks but lost them. Some passerby found you, naked in a stream. You looked like you’d been through hell, all bruised and bleeding so she brought you here. The police think you are one of those kids and want you arrested, Doctor Campbell thinks you were their prisoner who got away as the dogs attacked.”

“What do you think?”

“I think you are a young girl who has been through more pain than anyone has a right to endure. I think the police are way off here and you are a victim, not a criminal. But what I think doesn’t matter much. If you need anything else, press this and I’ll be back.” She left then, turning off the main lights but leaving the ones over my bed on.

I knew that England had a higher technology than did Ireland but it couldn’t be this high so I must be after my time and before the extinction of humanity. That meant maybe 400 years to search. Apparently the English had expanded their empire to the Colonies and maybe beyond. Was there any Ireland left? Cromwell had taken so many millions of Irish, my mother included, and sold them as slaves to the Colonies so Dr Campbell could be orange, an Irish traitor or she could be descended from Irish slaves. But why allow an Irish, and a woman at that, to become a doctor? Whatever the answers, I’d not find them here so had to escape.

I examined the devices attached to me but they seemed to be only monitoring my body and so I turned it off and removed the wires from my skin. Then I looked over the needle in my arm and carefully pulled the hose from the bag and tasted salt water, she was telling the truth so I removed the tape and pulled the needle free. Then naked, I rose and looked around. I seemed to be on a higher floor, maybe third or fourth which I could have jumped as a Weir but now… This gown covered almost nothing, totally open in the back so I took a sheet and wrapped that around me, then had to pee. I couldn’t find a chamber-pot and had no idea of what facilities they had here so drank from the pitcher on my table and squatting, re-filled it with my urine. Then I closed the top and set it in a corner to be removed later.

There were two doors so I chose the one the doctors did not use and found myself in what looked like a privy in that it had a sink and something that looked like a toilet so I poured my urine into that and left.

Listening at the other door, I waited until the sounds faded and carefully opened the door and peeked out. A long hall ran for a long distance with doors all down both sides, all closed. But no one was around so I left and made my way in a direction chosen at random. I peeked into every room via the window many of them had had and some were used by patients, some empty awaiting their occupants then found one with towels and linens. This looked promising so I entered and looked around to find some clothes similar to what the nurse and doctors wore so dropped my sheet and gown and dressed quickly, tossing extra sets and a blanket into a cloth bag. I also found what looked like paper booties so put those over my bare feet and finding nothing else of value, left.

Voices halted me and I saw women sitting behind a desk talking on some communicator they held to their heads as they took notes on charts so I hunched down and made my way past them to some doors that looked like a turbo-shaft. Not willing to be trapped within, I spied another door and saw stairs so entered those. Most people would be lazy enough to ride the turbo instead of stairs so I easily made my way down undetected.

Then it was a simple matter to simply walk out the building past all the people. No one gave me a second look and I was free. But where to go? The Demons never used money and whatever I had was on my ship so I couldn’t pay for even a meal so I’d have to find some way to survive soon.

I crossed the parking apron looking at the ground-cars stored there but an occasional check revealed all were locked for fear of crime. Given time I could easily bypass the locks but learning to drive one would take longer so I continued to walk down the street seeking a place to hide.

No one gave me any looks until two men started to make rude comments to me. I needed no telepathy to know that these guys were looking at me as if I were a whore so I ignored them as they followed. One grabbed me so I twisted free and ducked the other and ran. Had I my Weir strength, I could easily stop them both but now, human again, I was far weaker than any man, especially one who towered over me by more than a foot.

No one helped me, preferring to watch a rape and murder than risk their own lives so I ran into an alley seeking a place to hide. No luck as they followed immediately then I found an old broom laying against the wall. Good, now I felt better as I grabbed the handle and hid behind some pipes.

“Come out bitch! We just want to have some fun. You’ll like it!” they called along with other obscenities so as the first approached I swung with all my strength and the handle broke against his face, but he went down, hard!

The other yelled what he was going to do to me with my stick and tried to grab me but he was too tall, or I was too short and I dropped to my knees and drove the broken end into his diaphragm and up into a lung or heart as I stood. A classic thrust that left him gurgling, staring then he slowly fell.

Looking around and seeing us alone, I dragged the bodies under cover, difficult with my lesser strength, and proceeded to rob the bodies of anything that looked valuable. Jewelry from ears, neck and wrist, leather pouches that contained what may be money and identification and bags of some white powder than made my skin crawl when I touched them so those I left along with other things I took to be worthless. Then I rubbed my stick with a cloth hoping to remove as much of my DNA traces as possible and left the alley and continued down the street.

“Eileen,” a woman’s voice called a block later. “Here!” A stranger was in a ground car and calling to me through an open window. I looked around then seeing nothing suspicious, approached. She was wearing the same clothing I now wore, nurses habit so maybe she came from the hospital? If so, she could be dangerous and was seeking a run-a-way prisoner/patient.

“I saw you leave the hospital and followed. I didn’t know you were discharged. Are you ok?”

“I am.”

“I’m the one who found you in that stream and brought you to the hospital. I was worried about you.” She looked at me then, “You didn’t have any clothes or belongings and Betty said you just arrived in the States yesterday. Where are you staying?”

“I don’t know. I’ll find someplace to sleep.”

She laughed, “With cast-off scrubs, no money or passport? Doorways get real cold here at night. Get in and you can stay with me for a few days.”

I looked again, seeking deceit then decided that she was my best hope so glanced at the door, found the way to open it and entered the vehicle.

She looked, laughed and asked, “First time in a car?”

“It is.” Well, starships don’t count.

I was looking around when she said, “You weren’t discharged were you? You stole those clothes and snuck out.”

I looked at her and decided to trust this woman. “I have no way to pay for food, clothes or the hospital charges. I was afraid that if I stayed, they’d enslave me or use me for parts to cover my costs.”

She was shocked, “We don’t do that here. We get the government to pay your bills for you. Do they really do that in Ireland?”

“Not Ireland but other hospitals I’ve seen.” I touched my belly where the Kris changed me in one such hospital. “If you cannot pay, they choose an organ and take that.”

“God! How barbaric. I’ve heard stories about people drinking too much at a bar and waking up in a bathtub of ice missing a kidney or something. Well, my name is Jean. I won’t tell anyone. It must be a bit scary to be in a new country like this, all alone.”

“I’m used to being around strangers and surviving on my own.”

“Well, you can sleep on my couch until we figure something out. I hope you don’t mind cats. My last divorce sort of turned me from men and my friends are afraid I’m turning into a cat-lady.”

“Cats? The English used to burn cats every year on the Feast of Saint John. We’d hide ours and be forced to watch the fires. I miss cats. I used to have one called Pyround. Until he was caught and burned by the British Soldiers.”

She was horrified. “We never hear anything like that in the news. It’s hard to believe that such things happen.”

“We are a conquered people and you English do whatever they wish to break us. You only hear your own side because you are English yourself.”

“I’m not English, I’m American. There’s a big difference. Here we are. It’s not much but I spend most of my paycheck paying off the debts my ex ran up. You can sleep there. I’ll find you a drawer for your things. Are you hungry?”

“I am. I ate, yesterday, no the day before but it wasn’t much.” I probably ate those people I had killed yesterday but that fed my werewolf nature and didn’t count towards this human body.

She looked sad, almost like she cared then showed me the bathroom, “You look dirty so go ahead and clean up and I’ll make you something. Towels, shampoo, here’s an extra toothbrush and plenty of hot water in the shower.”

“Thank you,” and this time I meant it.

The bathroom was small, barely a shower and toilet as the Americans called them and a small sink. But it was better than I had aboard the Demon ship so I stripped, hid my bag behind the toilet and gloried in the hot water. Finally clean, Jean knocked at the door and said, “I have a t-shirt you can wear if you want, it’s outside the door.”

I opened the door carefully, almost expecting to find an army waiting but saw only the shirt folded on the floor so I pulled it inside and looked it over. There was a drawing on the front, a bunch of cats wearing strange hats, then on the back the same scene from behind, their tails in the air and exposing their assholes. It made me cry and I did so, sitting on the toilet and holding that shirt. Finally, I put it on and it came to near my knees, almost like a short dress, and left the bathroom carrying my bag.

“You don’t need to carry that as if it will vanish. No one will steal your stuff. Here, it’s not much but the best I can do until payday. Divorce is a bitch! Never fall in love with a good line because he’s probably telling it to a dozen other women.”

I started to eat then said absently, “I gave up men after those soldiers…” Then stopped. She was catholic or protestant, either would see my desire for women as a sin or a crime and I needed her. I was also beginning to like her.

“I understand. It must be rough. I used to have a daughter myself but my husband was too selfish and made me give her up. I did it because I wanted him to love me and thought that he would if I did what he said. What an ass! And I mean both of us.”

“You gave away your baby? I’ve never heard of that. Sometimes we cannot feed our children so we foster them to distant family but they are always there.”

“Well, I’m not perfect. I wouldn’t be living alone in this dump as a nurse if I were. I’ll get you some blankets.”

“I have one,” I laughed pulling the one I stole from the hospital from my bag, carefully rolling the stolen loot inside my extra stolen clothes. All I had on this planet I stole. I didn’t know what to think about that.

She laughed too, “With what they charge and what they pay us, the hospital can afford to loose a few blankets.” Then she began to clean up, refusing my help.

Against a wall was a large mirror so while she was busy, I removed the shirt and examined myself carefully. It had been a dozen years since the Demons changed me. Eighteen years as a human, a dozen as a Weir and now human again. I pulled my hair back and looked at my ears, now round. My eyes were brown and round, the cat-slits gone, gone as were my antennae. I held my breasts, smaller than before, the same size as they were when I was taken, but now firm. Without my Weir regeneration, they’d eventually sag. I felt my legs and arms and felt fine hairs beginning to grow for Humans are hairy but Weir are not. Well, I had hairy arms and legs in Ireland, I could do the same here. I turned around and felt my arse, or rather my spine where it meets my arse seeking my tail. At first the thing terrified me, so snake-like but soon fell in love with it for its abilities as an extra hand when working and as a lover when in need. I touched the scars from the bullet holes. The doctors thought they were from the English from a dozen years ago but these were from yesterday, healing fast because of my werewolf ability.

Finally I pulled a chair close and sitting, spread my legs and examined my woman’s area. Yes, there it was, another maidenhood. Fuck! I hated growing these things and having them torn every time I had sex. At least my human body wouldn’t regrow it every few days. Then I saw her in the mirror.

Embarrassed I pulled my shirt before me and tried to explain.

“No, Eileen, don’t be afraid. After what you went through, I’d be surprised if you didn’t take inventory.”

I hurried into my shirt. “I’m not used to being naked in front of anyone other than my lover.”

“But we are both girls and you’re a virgin?”

“That’s what I meant.” She then understood and was embarrassed again.

“I suppose if I had your life, I’d be gay too. My husband used to cheat on me all the time. Sometimes he’d bring his sluts home and force me to do them while he watched. I did a lot of stupid things because of him. Maybe that’s why I don’t date any more. I’m burned out on men right now. Well, I have a double shift tomorrow so need some sleep. Call me if you need anything. Good night.”

“Good night,” and she shut the door to her bedroom, leaving me in near darkness. I took my bag as a pillow, lay on the couch and with my blanket lay in the darkness thinking. Being here wouldn’t be too bad. I’ve been in worse places and my ship or the Demons was on the way so…

I found myself idly stroking myself. That always happened when I changed, the hormones went mad and I wanted sex all the time, wanted to yell and scream and do anything that would release the pressure. But without phallus or tail, and with another damn maidenhood all I could do is rub myself. Carefully, I licked my fingers and used the saliva as a lubricant and squeezing my breast with the other hand, brought myself to climax. I did have this ache inside for I was used to a tail or phallus or the occasional penis inside but I knew how much it would hurt were I to tear myself right now. Later when I wouldn’t soil the furniture.

Soon the cats appeared and I fell asleep under their warmth and to the sounds of their music.

III

I woke up to the shower and decided to make Jean breakfast to thank her for her kindness. What a mistake for she found me sitting in the kitchen crying, holding some can that I couldn’t open.

“What’s the matter?” she asked, kneeling before me.

“I tried. I wanted to make you breakfast to thank you because you’ve been so kind but.. I never saw a kitchen like this. I don’t know how to operate the stove. I can’t even open these cans..” Now I was bawling, my frustration was aggravated by my hormones that always played havoc after my changes. Things were so easy aboard my ship. Here I would starve in a pantry.

She pulled me up, “that’s ok. I understand. Here, watch me. This is a can-opener, it works like this. And the stove is electric, this is the oven, these for the burners. The numbers indicate temperature. Bread goes into the toaster. See, you’ll learn. I don’t eat breakfast myself but I’ll gladly make you something. What kind of stove did you have in Ireland?”

I wiped my nose and eyes on my shirt sleeve and said, “We never had electricity. Mother cooked in the hearth, the fireplace. Then, when the soldiers burned our house, mostly over a campfire. We were always hungry.”

“I suppose that’s why you are so small. Sit! Have something to eat. How do you like your eggs?”

“I can cook if I know how to work the stove.”

“No. You sit and be a guest. If you insist you can play around while I am at work but remember to turn the stove off when you’re done. And be careful or you’ll burn yourself.”

Later, she continued, “These are my skinny clothes. I really need to loose weight so for now feel free to wear these. They’ll be a bit large for you but better than scrubs.”

Jean was easily a hand taller than me, a good two stone heavier and her breasts were far larger than my human ones, even larger than my larger Weir chest and I had a fantasy of burying my face between them. But my height was average for my race at my time for these Americans were almost giants, Jean being as tall as the average man in Ireland or England of my time and she was short by her standards. I was thirty years old, more or less, and even their teens were taller than me.

She was dressed and as she rushed out the door, called, “I’ll be back after dark so watch TV if you want and I’ll call when I can,” then she kissed me on the cheek and had I any warning, I’d have turned to meet her lovely smile with my lips.

I went to the window and watched her leave in her ground-car then sat and tried to figure out what to do. At eighteen, I had grown up in the mid-seventeenth century where oil lamps were considered advanced. Then I went into an interstellar world where lighting changed with a thought. Here I had to hunt for a switch. The Demons had trained me to be a technician so it was time to learn this technology.

First, though, I pulled my bag and emptied my loot on the table. Watches, two of them, more advanced than the ones we had in Ireland but still primitive compared to Demon timepieces that adjusted for every planet. Rings, necklaces, all heavy gold and so valuable. There were coins of four sizes and when I lay them by size then by weight then by material, they made no sense at all. One was copper the rest of some silver alloy but none of gold. The copper said ‘one cent’ so that must be a penny. Another said ‘five cents’ so must equal five pennies. The largest said ‘quarter dollar’ so that made some sense but how many pennies to a dollar? And what was a ‘dime’? This ‘dime’ was smaller than ‘five cents’ so maybe was 2 or 2 ˝ cents?

The papers were easier, being of ‘one dollar’, ‘five dollars’, ‘ten dollars’, ‘twenty dollars’, ‘fifty dollars’ and ‘one hundred dollars’.

The identification was simple but contained a lot of information. A picture of the owner, some biographical data and a lot of numbers that I couldn’t understand. There were also plastic cards with a number of different names and numbers on them, only one of which, something with a ‘visa’ logo that was common, having the same name as the ID card of one of my victims. It was obvious that the men I had killed were brigands who robbed and raped as they would and these cards and money were their booty. So why keep the cards unless they had monetary value?

There were other things, one had a plastic container that when I opened it, revealed a green plastic thing of incomprehensible use. I couldn’t see through it but then I poked it, I found I could unroll it like a sleeve or pouch and it was scented and slimy. Were it not for the scent and slime, I would have thought it was a storage pouch. I took a long yellow fruit that Jean called a banana and unrolled the sleeve over the banana. Curious. Then I remembered something and ran to the bathroom. Behind the mirror where Jean showed me toothpaste, there were some of these things. So Jean had them too? But why? To store bananas? I tried to blow one up but it made a poor toy and when I filled it with water, it held unless I put too much in then it burst.

Putting that mystery aside I looked over the remainder of the leather purses and saw a number of cards that looked like identification but for what? NRA? Voters Registration? Official Titty Watcher?

Having no idea of what was valuable I put all the cards into one of the plastic sleeves, tied the end and hid it under the sink where I could find it easily. The money I kept and decided to throw away the leather purses later.

I looked over the books and Jean had more books than a monastery. I would expect some to be religious but saw no bible or lives of the saints. Pulling one down at random I saw a cover of a beautiful woman in a flowing dress held by a half-naked man, I opened it at random and read, “She stared at the stockman, his hard lines revealed by the opening in his shirt. She knew that she wanted him and the knowledge that he knew that made her breath quicken.” Closing it I laughed. Sex books. Jean was reading about sex because she wasn’t having any.

On the table was a large book with paper covers. It was poorly made but the cover showed a horse and I looked over the cover carefully finding a date, ‘December 1994’. If this was correct, then the year was 1994, almost 350 years into the future. It wouldn’t be long before the Earth was destroyed. Somehow knowing that Jean would be dead soon made me sad. Perhaps when my ship arrived, I could save her.

I cleaned up the place and washed the dishes as best I could and that helped me find where she stored her things. She had a basket where dirty clothes lay but I couldn’t find any place to wash them so waited on those. Then when I was done, I collected as many tools as I had found and began to disassemble whatever technical devices I could find.

All were simple to trace and understand being of two main types, a chemically created electricity that induced a current in wire to produce heat and light as in their lighting and cooking (and perhaps their heating) units and a silicon chip concept that stymied me until I built a scanner and sensor to trace the voltages. After a dozen years repairing Demon, Kris, Vanthi and Skree starships, this was simple and I soon had pages of notes and had begun to design some decent technology with what I could safely take from her devices.

She also had two forms of entertainment, one audio only that seemed to be mostly music. By adjusting the frequency received I could listen to any number of various forms of music that ranged from pleasant to terrible. And just when I was enjoying the music, it would end and the announcer would tell me what I had heard (as if I cared) then try to convince me to purchase something, then he’d talk through the beginning of the next song.

The audio-visual was more interesting. It followed the same concept as the audio but being of a tighter frequency, could produce moving images as well. Some of these were in English and some in a language I didn’t understand so I focused on the English images for even though I spoke English as did Jean, my English was from 1640 and hers from 1990 and those centuries made them difficult to understand. So I practiced what I heard so we could talk in more than short sentences.

The variety was amazing. There were many frequencies of sports, one in particular was football which had two teams of heavily armored men slam into each other as they chased a small oval ball. It would actually be fun to watch but every few seconds everyone would stop, mill around like sheep while announcers would tell you what had happened as if you were blind and didn’t see it for yourself. Had they played through this discussion, it would have been fun so I moved on. Some were educational as one on knitting that was for advanced knitters and another I loved for it was obviously for children and I laughed as Cookie Monster, a puppet, interacted with a child as he taught her their alphabet.

Others were plays that I suppose you needed to watch the entire thing to understand and others were filled with action, ground cars chasing and exploding, people shooting at each other with their hand-guns which were totally ineffectual for it took dozens of bullets to do what one musket ball in the hands of a sharpshooter could accomplish. Then, two women nearly naked were kissing and I stopped to watch this one. After a very few moments, they were naked and kissing, licking and caressing each other and I was so excited that I pulled my shirt off and joined in. Honestly, I had never watched anyone have sex before, save that one time at a Demon orgy and had no idea that watching other people make love would be so.. exciting. Soon I was lost and climaxing along with the actresses on the vid. I’d need to see, YES! They did have phalli and some of those seemed to vibrate or move. All different shapes and sizes. I definitely needed to know where to find those. And if they showed women together on the vids, then this must be accepted by society and I could find a lover easily.

I would gladly have spent the day there jilling with my fingers and my video lovers but then a man arrived and both women began to service him and I lost interest.

Leaving the vid on so I could practice my English, I continued to explore the room which was small. Jean had one small bedroom, a smaller bathroom and a common room that included the kitchen. She did say that she had debts to pay so doubtless this was all she could afford.

Among the books I found an atlas! The book had an image of the Earth taken from orbit and I quickly learned the codes and found Ireland. So close yet so far. I didn’t know where I was on Earth but this atlas made me homesick for my own country. Yes, there was Belfast, where I was born in 1635. Then on another page I noticed that different countries were colored differently. Spain was yellow, Portugal was red, France green, the Italian States blue and so on. Most of Ireland was green but Ulster, Wales, Scotland and England were blue! If this meant what I thought it meant, most of Ireland had become FREE! Only my own part remained under British control. This gave me hope and freeing Ulster would be much easier than freeing all of Eire. I wanted to leave immediately but how? And which way?

Hmmm, both IDs of the men I had killed said ‘State of California’ so I found the index and searched for State of California with no luck. But there were two California’s, One Baja and one just California. Looking at the larger map, I saw that California was the western edge of the Colonies, which was called ‘United States’ or “Unites States of America’. On the globe image I was almost exactly on the opposite side of the planet from Ireland. Damn! At least I knew where I was and where to go.

I also spent a few hours re-doing the circuits in Jean’s devices and taking parts I could bypass. Eventually I’d make a transmitter and antenna to send a distress signal to my ship or to the Fleet.

The rest of the day I fed and played with the cats, picked up whatever I could and tried to dust. Then sat there. Bored to death. On the ships there was always something to do, here, nothing. I played with the cats again, then tried to make something to eat and finally began to understand the stove. But it required constant watching or things would burn.

Hours later Jean came in and asked, “How was your day?”

I gave her a dirty look from the couch and asked, “Beer?” handing her a bottle.

“Where did this come from?”

“It’s called pizza and if you call them on the telephone, they cook it for you and deliver it to you and all you have to do is wash your hands afterwards.”

“I know about delivery but where did you find the money to pay for it?”

“Oh that, some men tried to rob me so I took their money instead. I have some left if you need it.”

She sat down, took a slice of the pizza and said, “I gather your day didn’t go well?” I could tell she wanted to know about the robbery from the way she glanced at the main door.

“I was raised Tierna, that’s a Noble. We had servants and wealth and so I was trained to be a wife and mother, not a cook and maid. I was taught to order cooks and maids around. So, today I realized that I am a terrible housewife. I cannot do anything that you can. I burned everything I tried to cook and dusting and cleaning was so dull I wonder how wives do it without hacking their husbands to death in their sleep.”

“Welcome to the real world. So if you’ve decided that you aren’t a wife, what are you?”

I leaned over, kissed her and said, “A lover,” then kissed her again.

She pulled back but I followed, never breaking contact, my tongue teasing her teeth then as she relaxed, her tongue. I have very soft lips.

“I’m straight,” she managed to say.

“I don’t mind. So was I, as was my first lover Chlareissah.” I was nibbling at her earlobe and breathing my response into her ears. “But she said it was just sex and the Goddess only cares that Her children enjoy themselves.” She wasn’t pushing away this time so I ran my tongue from her shoulder to her chin, then to her earlobe which I softly bit.

She moaned at that so I ran my tongue around the folds in her ear, breathing lightly as I did so, my hot breath mixing with my saliva.

“Eileen, I need to ask you something.”

I looked into her eyes, then caressed her lips with my tongue then flicked hers with mine as I slowly moved my chest against hers, my hard nipples barely touching her shirt. Supporting myself with one hand, I ran my fingernails along her inner thigh then over and down the other, noting that her legs separated a bit. I began to kiss her lips, slowly working my way down her chin then neck, leaving a trail of her shudders as I did so.

“my husband never… he just… he wanted, .. oh god!” as I nibbled at the nape of her neck, softly biting.

I rested on my heels, one hand running my nails along her inner thighs, the other working under her shirt, gently along her ribs. She was now breathing heavily, shuddering often, so I pulled her shirt up and kissed her belly, my tongue running circles inside my lips as ripples ran down her body.

Moving up, she had already undone her bra in front (I had never seen one in real life) and as I pulled one side away with my teeth, she cried, “OK, I give.” And pushed me off and ran for the lights. Now dark she took my hand and pulled me to the bedroom, losing her top along the way.

I stopped her, lifting her heavy breasts in my hands, lifting them to my lips and slowly nursing the one then the other as her nipples hardened. She took my head in her hands, kneading my hair as I teased her then she let go and reaching down, pulled my shirt off, leaving me naked in the dim light from outside. She knelt before me, kissing my own neck and moving down to my breasts which, though she was inches taller than me, were still at a higher altitude. I never let go of hers as she licked me harder and then softly bit my erect nipples causing me to gasp in pleasure.

Shoving me to the bed, she knelt over me, he breasts caressing mine as she swayed, saying, “I know, I’m fat and I sag. I wish I were as firm as you.”

Had I my tail, it would be caressing her lower lips now but I made do with my fingers, slowly caressing her lips and feeling them open as her wetness arrived, coating my fingers so I could stroke her clit.

She moaned again and I arched to allow more contact between our breasts and said, “All women age outside, it’s what is inside that is important, then I slid my finger within, pulled her head down and kissed her, seeking her throat with my tongue.

She collapsed and fell onto me, her weight a pleasure, her hands working down to my own sensitive area.

I climaxed long before she did and then rolled her over, my lips working down there and as I kissed and licked, she took my hand and slid it down beneath her leg moaning, “use your fingers too.”

***

Hours later, it seemed like days, we lay there and she said again, “Eileen, I need to ask you something.”

I sat and handed her a brush telling her, “Brush my hair while you do. Mmmm, that feels nice.”

We sat there in the darkness, her making love to my hair with her brush and finally she said, “I talked to the orderlies. All you stole were some scrubs and a blanket. You could have taken drugs and sold them but you didn’t. Why not?”

“Some things are too evil even for me. My hair used to be to my waist. Then I had to cut it to just above my breasts so I could work. What do you think? Longer or shorter?”

“Your hair is beautiful as it is. But the news talked about two men killed and robbed in an alley, the alley was near where I found you.”

“Don’t forget underneath, it makes my hair look fuller. It has been so long since I’ve looked like a woman, can you help me there?”

“You didn’t answer my question.”

I turned around and said, “You didn’t ask me a question. Take care where you seek for the fox you chase may be a wolf.”

“I have to know. Did you kill those men?”

“I did. They followed me, taunting me and making obscene comments. I ran from them and they chased me but no one would help so I ran down that alley to hide and they found me. I had to stop them for they were both so much stronger than me, then, when it was over, I took what I needed to survive.”

“And that’s how you paid for the pizza?”

“It was. Do you want to see the rest?”

“Yes.”

I left the bedroom, knowing that if this went wrong, I’d have to run from her and hide from both her and the police. She watched me recover the cards, money and jewelry then said, “Why did you put these credit cards in a condom?”

“Isn’t that what they are for? I couldn’t think of any reason for them.”

She laughed. “Of course, you’re from a catholic country, condoms are illegal there. Eileen, these are condoms, they go over a penis before sex to prevent pregnancy and disease.”

“Oh, I thought what we just did does that too.”

“Don’t change the subject.”

“Don’t stop brushing my hair. I found these in their leather purses. Most have different names on them so I believe those men had robbed others before me.”

She looked through the collection, a sheet wrapped around her then gasped, “This one, I recognize that name. She was brought in last week, beaten and raped and robbed. This one too.” She sagged, then continued, “Those men were serial rapists. What they did was evil, but you killing them was wrong too.”

“Why? Have you ever been raped? Been held down and beaten as men took their turns at you?”

She shook her head.

“I have. It is a terrible thing so don’t judge me until you’ve suffered thus.” I got up and left her then.

She came out as I was stuffing my blanket into my bag, “You don’t have to go.”

“I do if you judge me thus.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know. Please stay. I’ll help you find your mother.”

“My mother is long dead. I was fifteen when she was taken and sold here, in America as a slave-whore. Most women die after five years of that.”

“But that isn’t so long ago. How old are you, eighteen? Nineteen?”

“I am thirty years old, maybe a year or two older.”

“Damn woman! You hold your age well. I’m thirty-five and look like I could be your mother.”

I went to her, still naked, put my arms around her neck, stood on my toes and said, “I’d rather you be my lover.”

IV

Vegas was brilliant and the excitement gave me a headache. Lights were everywhere and I could have shoved a mountain into orbit with the power they wasted. Plus my ship was on the way and would arrive within days. What I had to decide was if I should tell Jean the truth and then maybe take her with me or keep my secret. How do you tell the woman you love that you’ve lied to her all these months?

She made me happier than I had ever been. She still was a nurse and I still stole from criminals, acting helpless then as they sought easy prey, I’d strike and leave carrying their own loot. Jean always cut the credit cards up so they’d never be used for her husband had run her into debt using her cards but the jewelry, we sold and the money, we spent.

Over the past weeks though, she had been distant. She still loved me, occasionally to exhaustion but she’d work late, come home late and then I found a condom, used, under our bed as I cleaned. I didn’t clean well but I tried and found one of the cats playing with it. Used. It smelled of her musk and something else, something salty so I went to the bathroom and counted the ones she had. I didn’t know how many were originally there but still I counted.

That night she confessed to me. “Eileen, I met someone. I told you I was straight and he made me feel good, here, in my heart.”

“How long?” I managed to force the words.

“The first time was last month. It’s been two, three times a week since.”

I exploded, “You came to me with him dripping from you!”

We fought, me calling her every dirty word I could think of and she begged for forgiveness. I fought down the werewolf inside that wanted me to change and tear her apart, eat the uterus that he had filled. But I controlled that part and in the end she promised to break it off and we came here to recover what we once had. I admit I was stupid.

She was debt free because of me. In six months I had paid off every debt her husband had run up in six years. Maybe it was only the money I made. Maybe it was that she loved me or maybe it was because I wasn’t demanding. Or maybe she was embarrassed to be known as a lez-chick for her image was always the most important part of her. In public we had to pretend to be only friends, sharing a room to save money for all knew of her financial problems and my inability to find a real job.

Honestly, what could I do? I had no social security number, no passport, no driver’s license. And my birth certificate, if there ever was one, would show me to be 360 years old and these Americans retire from work after 60. My only skills were the repair of technology and crime and killing. I could repair anything and to keep up pretense of being honest, I would occasionally work for a local repair shop. The pay was what the Americans call under-the-table and was not enough to stop me from stealing but it allowed Jean to hold her head up in public. A head I was never allowed to kiss unless we were alone.

Maybe here, where no one knew us, we could hold hands in public.

We had a room, a good room. This room was larger and more expensive than our entire apartment and before we went out, we dressed the part. Jean had spent six months teaching me about clothing, cosmetics, jewelry, all those things that are totally useless aboard a starship filled with six-legged lizards. But now I loved the look. I loved men looking at me though I still resisted their seductions. I loved the dresses and how they looked on me. I loved being beautiful, even if that beauty came from a jar and would be lost in a good rain-storm. And I loved Jean for despite my anger, she did make me happy and with her nothing else mattered.

That first night we danced together in public for the first time, no one cared, and in bed, me screaming my head off in passion, I decided to tell her the truth. We lay there, satiated, and I tried to decide how to tell her. ‘My love, I’m not what you think. I was born in Belfast in the year 1635 and was raped and killed by the British. Then aliens abducted me, changed me into an alien and made me a worker-slave. Then some other people kidnapped me and changed me into a werewolf. Now this form you see isn’t the real me, well it was but I change when I am injured or stressed. I have a starship and I want you to go into space with me.’ Then she’d say, ‘of course I’ll go with you, I love only you and I’ll always be faithful to you.’

That sounds like some stupid television show. No, when my ship arrived, I’d land it in the desert, show it to her and tell her then.

We gambled, often winning, sometimes loosing though I could calculate the probabilities of certain cards showing so we won slightly more than we lost and would end each day a few thousand dollars ahead. Were I still Weir, I could easily own this town with my psychics and once we even tossed all our cash on the bed and made love on a pile of money that would buy half of Ireland in my time.

We also saw the shows but Jean, jealous of my staring, dragged me from one topless show before it was half-done. Then, walking along the streets, I glanced aside and called, “Wait! There! I want that!”

“What?”

“That sword! It’s like the one Brount uses but smaller and heavier.” Then I ran inside and asked to see the blade.

“You have a sharp eye young lady. This is the finest in 440 stainless steel patterned after a 14th century Japanese Tachi.”

“Stainless?” I asked, looking at the blade. Yes it was beautiful but stainless, though acceptable for a knife and certain engine parts was useless for a sword. It was too hard and lost it’s edge too easily. “I’m sorry, I thought this was a real sword.”

He looked at me and asked, “Do you study kendo?”

“I don’t, not exactly. My teacher was a warrior-monk on a pilgrimage and took me as a student. He saw the sword as his way to Nirvana and hoped that teaching me would calm my spirit. Why?”

He smiled, turned and removed a blade from a case. This one was similar but not as gaudy and he handed it to me.

The weight was perfect. I drew the steel and saw the temper-line then when fully drawn, I kicked my four inch heels aside and did one of the Dances that Brount taught me, a Dance that included every cut and thrust and block known.

“You move like you were born to the sword.”

“I am Irish Tierna, my father was a warrior and I’ve fought my share of battles. Tell me about this,” I asked.

The sword was recently made by a local smith in the manner of old Japan. But it was far better than anything on the mass market. I had never heard of the smith he mentioned but the steel was excellent and when I asked ‘How much?” he replied, “Normally seven thousand dollars.” I opened my purse, “But since you appreciate fine steel and know how to use it, five.”

I looked at the blade and handed him the money in cash. Then I bowed to him, thanked him and left the store, Jean following and calling, “You forgot your pumps. What the hell was that for? Five thousand dollars for a sword?”

Placing my shoes on my feet, I tried to explain, “When I met Brount, I was nineteen and hated the British. I had killed some after they took my mother and wanted them all dead, especially after they hanged my father. Brount taught me the way of the sword and it calmed me down. Because of him, I still fight and kill, but I don’t hate as much. I miss my practice and this will keep me calm and focused.”

She didn’t understand. She was a bit selfish in that way and when I lay the sword on our dresser, she refused my touch and left, “I need to be alone for awhile. Go ahead and practice if you must.”

She left, dressed in her party dress and so I took my sword to the pool which was deserted. After moving the lounges aside I Danced over and over, first slow then faster until I was a blur. I admit I wasn’t as good as I was as a Weir but still, I attracted attention and applause when I was done, my dress stained with sweat and my make-up running. I wiped my face with a towel, looked at the mess and wiped again until I was clean then picked up my pumps and sword and returned to my room where I showered and waited for Jean to return.

I must have fallen asleep because when I woke up, it was still dark and I was worried so dressed and carrying my treasure, left in search. I wasn’t allowed on the casino armed so had a bell-boy take the steel to our room and searched unarmed. Nothing. No one had seen her so I tried the next casino and the next. Sunrise left me exhausted and alone so I returned to our room and found her in the shower. “May I join you?”

“I’d rather be alone if you don’t mind.”

“Where were you?”

“Out, thinking. Keep the sword if it makes you feel better.”

“Thank you.” That made me happy for her to see how I felt. When she came to bed, she allowed me to hold her but when I caressed her, she said, “Don’t. I’m tired.”

“Dear…”

“If you need release, here!” and she handed me a vibrator then rolled over.

Damn that woman. Sometimes she can be so irritating. So to spite her, I turned it on and jilled myself to orgasm next to her. She stiffened when she heard the buzz and again when I climaxed but still wouldn’t touch me. Fine! Selfish bitch!

She was gone when I awoke and I was still frustrated, more emotionally than anything else but, I reached for the vibrator and exhausted myself before I was too hungry to continue. Then I showered and left searching for her again.

By lunch I returned to find that she had been there before me and all the money was gone. Now I was really worried for a town like this would have predators all over and those thousands of dollars were a sign crying ‘rob me!’

She returned that night and went immediately to the shower. Later she called, “Will you join me?” which I did immediately. We kissed and fondled but no more was allowed though we fell asleep in each other’s arms.

The next morning she mentioned, “We need more cash. Let’s go gambling.”

“More? We had over $20,000 last night.”

“I lost it, ok. If you love me you’ll let it go.”

I knew something was wrong but tried to do as she asked and spent the day going from casino to casino, slowly recovering her losses. I could have easily built a device to control every slot machine in the city, every computer-controlled game but found this way more pleasing. It forced me to concentrate and so I didn’t think of Jean and what was happening. I admit that I was stupid.

Then that night, with our money on the dresser, she and I enjoyed each other and then, resting, asked, “Why do you hate so much?”

“You know why .”

“I know what you told me. You said that you were gang-raped at 18. But, Eileen, you were still a virgin as my best sheets revealed when we bought that first vibrator. And if you’re thirty now, you’ve had enough time to get over it. So, something is wrong there.”

“I heal fast and re-grew.” Then I relaxed, sighed, “Brount at first refused to teach me, fearing I’d use his skills to murder English indiscriminately. Then he said he saw something in me and if I studied well, maybe I could let my anger go. But the problem was that most women have friends who are men and they see that not all men are evil. Fathers, brothers, friends help them heal. I had none of that. I was beaten, gang-raped and shot. Then saved and the next couple years I never saw another man. The only person I saw, my only friend was a woman so I never got a chance to heal. It was years before I saw a man and within seconds of meeting, he was naked and had an erection. To him I was just meat.”

“So you’ve never been with a man since that.. time?”

“One only. I was dying from frustration and he was effeminate. I turned the lights off and pretended it was Chlareissah with a strap-on.”

“From your tone, you liked it.”

“I was ashamed. Yes I liked it and it disgusted me that I wanted it in me.” Then forcing myself to relax, “I really do enjoy something hard slowly thrusting into me. But that’s a physical thing. Emotionally, mentally I prefer a woman. Maybe if there were women with a penis, I’d enjoy it on all levels.”

She laughed, “There are. They call them pre-op-transsexuals. Men who want to become women. We do their surgery at the hospital and some turn out quite attractive. But really, you love watching girl-on-girl porn. Would it excite you to watch me with another woman? I know I’d love to see you with one. Watch you kiss her, stroke her, lick her nipples, working your way down…”

She got me so hot I raped her then.

“Well, if I had known this, I’d have suggested it sooner. So who?”

I thought about this a moment. I’d never cheated on Jean save in my mind. “I admit that the though has some merit. When you are at work and I watch the Spice Channel or those porn videos I imagine myself with those women. And your friend Kitty is definitely hot.”

“Kitty is totally gay. She pretends to like men but that’s because she’s a dancer and it makes her a lot of money. That’s why you find her attractive, she knows how to make people want her. It’s all an act.”

“You sound bitter?”

“Ok, she fucked my husband. Then he made me do her while he watched. I had to lick him from… you know.”

“Then why did you remain friends?”

“Because I liked it. I’m ashamed to admit it but watching her do him got me excited. The thought of watching you eat me out while a man does you doggie-style gets me so wet…” Then she raped me.

Later, “If I had known that got you going, I’d have rented boy-girl porn,” I laughed.

“I’m serious, Eileen. I told you I’m straight. I enjoy you and love you but… I really prefer men and please, I want to share you with a man.”

Then I stiffened. “You’ve got someone I mind!”

“Please don’t be like that. I want to be married again, maybe have children that I can keep. But I don’t want to loose you either. I want to try this and maybe you’ll love him too and we can have a group marriage. Eileen!” She shouted as I got out of bed, threw a t-shirt over my body, grabbed my sword and left as she called for me. I needed to be alone. She lied to me and never stopped seeing him. Now she wanted to share me with him, watch him pound at me as those soldiers watched each other rape me. I needed to get this from my system and Danced over and over trying to regain my Balance.

Fortunately, she didn’t follow for had any man touched her, I would have cut him down.

Finally, exhausted, I knelt and with my sword in my lap, tried to meditate but I couldn’t still my mind enough and soon Jean was kneeling before me, “Eileen, I’m sorry I hurt you. Are you going to kill me?”

“I love you too much. Jean, it’s the way you did it that hurts. You lied to me. Had we talked about sharing, had we tried I really would have let a man do me for you. Then, later when we were used to the idea, if you met someone, we could both have tried. But to be with him, behind my back, then to reveal it like that. I can’t. I can’t be with someone who has been fucking my love. I can’t even be polite to him. I don’t know if I can even resist the urge to kill him if we met.”

She looked down, “I understand.”

Then, “There’s something more, isn’t there?”

“Yes. I know this will hurt but all that money I lost. I gave it to him. He’s been gambling and lost too much to the wrong people. If he doesn’t give them a half million dollars by tomorrow night, they’ll break his knees and maybe more. All that money I took from you was to buy him time. I need you to help us.”

“Let him suffer.” I snapped at her. “If he is stupid enough to gamble with criminals when he could loose to honest men here, he deserves it. What kind of brainless idiots would you spawn for a man like that? You’d be lucky if they learned to walk erect.”

“Please don’t be like that. There’s more. If I don’t pay them, they’ll hurt me and you too.”

I laughed at that. Soon my ship would be here and the only difference between a Vanthi pirate and a Vanthi merchant is the number of guns you have so my ship was well armed. Not well enough to destroy a planet like any Demon ship but between my cloak, shields and beamers, I could easily turn this building to slag and laugh at the nearby Air Force Base. “We should run then. All I need is a few days and we will be safe from anyone.”

“We don’t have a few days, Eileen. They are watching us right now. If we try to leave, they’ll … Eileen, do you want to watch them do to me what those soldiers did to you? Like it or not, we’re in this together.”

“So your cheating has put both our lives at risk?”

“I’m sorry.”

“Let me think about this.” Standing, I looked around but couldn’t tell who was watching us because she was beautiful and built while I was naked under my-shirt and who was watching us because they wanted to do us harm. Damn! I knew nothing about criminals. I robbed them as wolf does a herd of sheep and I sold much of their booty to dishonest pawn-brokers but that was the extent of my knowledge.

In Ireland, I was a soldier, fighting the British with my father and later alone or with other patriots. In space, those occasional meetings I had with other races were either polite or military but rarely criminal so I was totally ignorant and ignorance was deadly. Give me weapons, and I could fight after a fashion. Could I build a device to help? A shield or cloak or weapon? Lasers were easy to construct, it was the power drain that caused problems. I even had one here but it was a single-shot deal, then the power core was exhausted and needed to be replaced. Shields lasted only seconds before they drained their power. I could build a re-charger unit, the design was simple enough but I had never needed it so the materials had never been a priority to gather.

In the room, I thought about what to do and how to do it but without knowledge of their ways, anything I could do would be of questionable value. Then the phone rang.

Jean picked it up, listened, then said, “I understand.” And hung up.

To me she said, “They want their money tonight. They want us all to meet them in an hour and said you needed to leave your sword here. What do we do?” now she was crying. Damn!

Pacing, I mused, “They know your man-whore cannot get any money on his own so he must rely on us. Your taste in men has not improved since your divorce. So they know that any money comes ultimately from me. They know I can win at gambling but only in small amounts so the amount they need will require weeks of hard effort and eventually I shall be banned from the casinos which will eliminate their funds. Thus they know I cannot win enough money by tomorrow night.

“They also know of my skill with a sword so fear my fighting ability. So to prevent us from planning or running, they have moved the deadline and so will either kill us, which would be counter-productive, or they wish to deal. I believe the latter for these are businessmen. Their business is crime but still business. So I meet and deal. Where and when do we meet?”

She gave me the location of an isolated place and a time after dark. Damn! Were it in town, we may be able to run and hide for the Las Vegas police worked hard to produce a family image and running down the street screaming that organized crime was chasing us would immediately force them to protect us. Ok.

I began to gather my gear and Jean said, “Eileen, they said to wear something skin-tight and skimpy or strip naked for a search.” Double damn! I dressed topless in a skimpy tank-top and mini-skirt with sandals then emptied the room fridge of water bottles and snack foods. The nice thing about looking eighteen was that I could actually wear such an outfit. Putting the food and drink in a bag with a sheet, I peeked from our room and took Jean down the hall. “Listen, I will meet with them, you hide here. I can endure rape and torture easier than you and still escape. What you must do is to hide a few hours then get out of town. Not home but someplace I don’t know. Then after a few days or more, it should be over.” She tried to argue but I shook her and looked up to her, “Remember, people never look up. If you can hide above their line of vision, you will be safe.” By then I found a janitors closet and picked the lock. Brooms, mops, pails, soap, cleanser… then I found it, a ceiling opening to the crawlspace. Closing this door, I stole some bottles of soap to throw off any searchers and we ran to the stairwell. Once past the door, I jammed the lock to prevent pursuit and we followed the stairs down.

After a few floors, I tested a door and found it locked. Better. These stairwells were sealed to prevent what I was to do. Once in them, escape was only on the ground floor. When I peeked, the hall was empty and we ran to the janitor’s closet where I picked the lock, we entered and I shut the door. Then I helped Jean climb into the crawlspace and with her food and water, she replaced the hatch, I cleaned the mess we made to hide her location, then I peeked out, left and re-locked the door and returned to the stairwell to exit on the ground floor.

I saw two men arrive on that floor so called, “Run!” to no one in particular but gave the impression that Jean had left the building. Then I visited the desk and called the man over, “Excuse me,” I panted, “but I and my girlfriend are staying on the 10th floor and we are being followed. I heard them talk about teaching those lesbians about sex so could you call security to look for them and escort them out?”

“Of course Ms Obrien. We take the safety of our guest very seriously. Can you describe them for us?”

“Better than that, there is one right there! And I think that man who he was talking to was another. There is at least a third somewhere too. I’m really afraid to be alone here now until they are apprehended.”

“Don’t worry at all, Ms Obrien, Security is on its way.” Two large men suddenly appeared and took the first gangster in custody as another chased the second man. “Would you like an escort back to your room?” The man was so polite, I slid a twenty to him and said, “No thank you. I’ll meet Jean in the casino and wait there until they are gone. You are so very kind I am certain to write a glowing letter to your manager.”

Then I entered the casino, took a glass of wine and walked around as if I were searching for someone. One of the security guards was nearby so I smiled at him. He gave a brief glance at my breasts under the tank-top, the air-conditioning making it obvious that I had no bra, then he nodded to me briefly and returned to scanning the room for anyone who was paying me undue attention. These people took the safety of their guests seriously.

Finally I lost the guard and snuck out to hail a taxi and left for my meeting.

The place was open and so had vision for miles in case of being followed and I saw men on the roof with rifles and night vision binoculars so any attempt to run would end with a bullet in my back. Maybe I should have spent more time watching TV and less reading.

At the door, the taxi long-gone, I was given a brief glance and a comment, ‘lift them’, so I lifted my skirt to reveal nothing but panties and my top to reveal not even a bag of saline. Then I was passed on.

The room was large with a couple guards carrying automatic weapons against the wall behind the table at which sat the obvious boss of the outfit. Before him were three chairs so I sat in the middle one and commented, “Jean will not be joining us though I hope your client will. I have words to share with him.”

“I don’t wonder and when this is over, you can have him. But, unfortunately, he has vanished. How I don’t know but we’ll find him. In the meantime, his debt has passed to you.”

“Why? If he is stupid enough to deal with you, he deserves whatever you do to him. All I ask is that I have whatever you leave alive.”

He laughed, this man was almost likable. “Ms Obrien, I wish it were that simple but we all have superiors and I have my own debts to pay. I need his money to pay my debts and so, you understand. Since he is unable to pay, and since your lover and he are an item, I must operate as if she were his wife and charge her with his debt. And since you and she are an item, the debt falls to you. I don’t like this as the more people involved, the more difficult my job is. Unfortunately, you are the only one of the three who has a chance of paying me my money. Now how do you plan to do that?” then, “and by the way, you are intelligent enough to not make empty threats about revenge or police since you are an illegal immigrant and we can easily plant enough evidence in your room to make the police wonder which to do first, lock you away or deport you to Scotland Yard.”

I looked around, sighed, beaten. “It will take me a couple weeks at least to win that amount of money. How about if I make you a device that will ensure a winning jackpot at any slot machine?”

“Interesting but no. Casinos are on the watch for those and besides, if you had one, you’d use it to break my own casino. Try again.”

“Rob a bank of your choice?”

“Again, no. Too much unwanted attention and the FBI tends to catch bank robbers and frankly, I’d rather not worry about you turning me in.”

“I suppose a blow job won’t do it.”

He actually laughed. “Cash, Ms Obrien and besides, I find most women tend to think they are worth more than they are. No, I think we will hold your lover and her lover as our guests until you win enough to pay his debt plus their room expenses.”

“I can accept that.”

He leaned forward, “NO, I don’t think so. It occurs to me that the knowledge that they may be fucking like rabbits while you are working hard may put you off a bit. I need some assurance that you will keep your end of the bargain.” He motioned and before I could move, I was grabbed and tossed to his desk. “Ms Obrien, let me give you just a small taste of what will happen to you and your lover if you betray me.”

He stepped back as one man pulled a switchblade and cut my tank top free as another did the same to my skirt and panties. A third undid his pants and revealed the largest penis possible as they held my head to witness my rape. I was terrified and they allowed me to scream then the beast came forward. My pale hair darkened and coarsened before them as my bones shifted and face elongated. Four more breasts appeared as my main ones shrank to a smaller size and a tail, furry, appeared from beneath. The men holding my legs panicked and I broke free to rake my hopeful attacker with my foot claws, spilling his intestines and shredded penis to the floor as he screamed.

I like them to scream. It makes it better. I raked another meat and then broke free and hunted, ignoring the bullets that struck me and those nearby. I charged them on all fours, them missing in their terror and then I was alone. I howled then drank deep of their blood then heard their car rev up.

I burst through the door, shattering it with my strength and chased a car as it accelerated. Cutting across the desert, I met them at the crossroads, slamming into the side and shattering the windows. The meat screamed and the car ran off the road. I pulled one through the window and drank deeply from his throat, chewing and swallowing the meat I had torn free.

Two others fired, their bullets striking but causing no damage for I had fed and with the feeding, came strength. I stood erect, slashed and blood spewed then leapt onto the back of the one seeking escape. Meat cannot escape. Meat can only be eaten.

Then the final one. The alpha meat. The one who ordered me to be hurt. It screamed and I let it flavor until I pulled it from the wreckage, opening it’s belly and eating it’s entrails as it screamed itself to death.

Satiated, I sought water and rest.

V

A man woke me up and slowly I heard concern in his voice. “Are you ok? Here, put this on, he handed me his shirt for I was naked, his eyes glancing at my breasts then the bruises all over my chest and belly then my face. “What happened?”

I tried to think. It was always fuzzy and took time to remember but thankfully, I never remembered everything. If I did I’d probably take a walk through an airlock. “Some men in my hotel. They dragged me from the casino and into a car. I fought but they ripped my clothes and I managed to jump free. Where am I?”

“Lake Mead. I’ll call the police.”

“No!” I grasped for him. “I’m scared. One of them had a badge. Just, please, some clothes and I’ll be ok.”

“Someone ought to clean the bad cops from the force. Here, my camper is over there. My wife has something you can wear.” His aura radiated concern then I realized that I saw his aura. My two thumbs easily held his shirt together, my tarsial feet leaving strange footprints in the mud.

Hours later I had convinced them that I was a harmless tourist seeking my lover and they drove me back to my hotel, happy to be the first to meet someone from another planet. They were nice middle-aged people and I was sorry that they’d die when Earth destroyed itself. I had a pleasant talk with the couple about gas giants and silicon squids flying through the ammonia-methane atmosphere of a Jovian world and other things that they found fascinating. It was easy to send thoughts of peace and tranquility into their minds so they were happy to help out and after combing my hair over my ears and antennae, giving me sunglasses to hide my eyes and large shoes for my toes, I entered the hotel with my tail curled under the loaned dress and visited my room.

My sword and clothing and jewelry were there but all the remaining money was gone along with Jean and her belongings.

“Are you all right?” the woman asked for they had helped me get past security.

I sat down, looked at the empty drawers and said, “I think I have been dumped.”

She held me, sincere in her concern and asked, “Can we do anything for you?” Then I turned to her and cried into her shoulder.

Later, in the shower, I cried again, then drained, dressed and made my face. It wasn’t easy for my Weir breasts and hips were back and so my clothes didn’t fit. But some concentration and the fibers shifted to my narrower waist and fuller bosom. Soon my desperate need for sex would arrive and I wanted to be either far away or with a half dozen beautiful women and a box of toys but for now I was content to be with my new friends.

“Kevin, Cindy, I’m kind of vulnerable right now so please bear with me. I was marooned here and have been hiding with my lover until I could be rescued. Your government would vivisect me if they caught me,” I sent visions of the movies I had seen concerning this to them and they shuddered, thinking that they were thinking that on their own. “I should be rescued in a couple days but my lover seems to have left me for someone else. She took all our money we earned and didn’t even leave a note.” I started to cry again. Damn I loved that woman.

Then, wiping my eyes, thank whatever gods there were for waterproof mascara, I continued. “Without her I can’t hide here anymore and I need money to buy supplies for the ship so I guess I’ll pack up and leave and try to make do until I’m picked up.”

They looked at each other and Cindy offered, “You can stay with us until then. The lake is a perfect place to hide and we’ll be happy to help you out. All we ask is to be your friends.”

I kissed her then, forcing myself to her cheek for the urge was rising and thanked her. “The room is paid until the end of the week so you can use it any time you want. But I have to warn you, my race has… appetites that you may find strange.”

Kevin joked, “What do you do, suck our brains and eat them?”

I was glad he joked, “No, sex. If I don’t get a lot of sex over the next few weeks, I’ll die. I suppose I can win more money from the casinos as I’ve been doing, use most for supplies and the rest for hookers. But I may be cranky until I settle that.”

Cindy looked at her husband and said, “Kevin?”

“Up to you.” He was smiling so she asked, “Will we do?” then she kissed me and I felt my head being turned as he kissed me too. What the hell? I went with it and had a wonderful hour sharing the two of them. This is how Jean should have approached me. I didn’t even mind when I napped and woke up to find Kevin on top of me, thrusting himself into my willing.. well you get the idea.

Halfway through, when waiting for Kevin to recover, he apologized for hurting me. Reaching down, I felt his seed and my virgin’s blood then tasted them explaining, “No dear, my kind re-grow our maidenhoods every few weeks unless we continually have sex. This has happened more than a dozen times in the past and is of no matter other than a bloody mess.” I laughed at that joke wondering how many times will I be a virgin over the next 500 years. Perhaps I could ask the Demons to correct this, convince them that a torn maidenhood is not an injury and an intact one a hindrance. Another part of me wondered about the Demons taking a Jew who would regrow his foreskin as often as they removed it. I often had strange thoughts after good sex.

We rode the elevator down and I explained how it works, “You two take turns gambling. I send you a thought on what to bet on and when we win enough, I send the other to pull you away.”

“So we stick it to the man. I like that.”

“Dear, wait, your bangs need adjusting,” and she re-combed them to hide my antennae. With a low dress to accent my breasts, wide shoes to hide my feet, sun-glasses for eyes and my tail curled under my dress, we should be ok since no one watches the people, they all watch the gambler. For those who watched us, my chest, now much larger than yesterday, would ensure that no one saw my other anatomical differences.

I called Kevin away after a short time and as we left the casino, he asked, “Why stop so soon? We could have broken the bank.”

“Because, dear,” I stood high to kiss him for even in my heels, he towered over me, hell, my nose was in his navel when we fucked. “First, you never get greedy or they cut you off. Win enough for our needs then walk away. And second, all those lights and such were giving me a headache. I detect em-fields and this place is full of them.”

Cindy removed my sun-glasses and commented, “Your eyes are bloodshot. I can tell that even though you have almost no whites. Maybe we should stop for the night?”

“Not yet please. One more casino. Please?”

“All right but if you get worse, we stop immediately. Money isn’t worth your health.” They were so wonderful.

After that and the next day, we rented a u-haul, filled it and their RV with supplies and drove out to the desert near the lake. “This looks good. It’s isolated and large enough, stop here.”

We did so and the two stared at the sky, “Where’s the ship?” Kevin was asking.

“Here!” and I pointed and the ship shimmered into view mostly over the water.

“Well,” Cindy commented, “it looks .. well dangerous.”

“It is. It’s a Vanthi merchant raider. They like their ships to look dangerous. We found it drifting and when we stopped to help, the crew attacked us. We fought back, killed them and my Ship-captain gave me the thing as back pay. I made a few modifications over the years. So, let’s load the supplies.”

Kevin didn’t at all mind that I carried twice his load and soon we were done, the food in the galley, the books in the cabin I turned into the library and my meager belongings in my cabin near the bridge. Then we stood there, on the shore and stared. “Well, I guess this is it. Nothing left but to leave,” Kevin offered.

I didn’t want to go yet but I didn’t want to leave. “I still have to go to my old apartment and get some things.” Then, “Would you two like a ride?”

They both jumped at the chance and soon we were above the clouds heading west.

“This is amazing. All my life I’ve dreamed of space travel.”

I laughed, “All my life I dreamed of marrying well and being Lady of my father’s Manor. Life is funny that way.” Soon we were over the city and I slowly approached the field I had chosen long months ago.

“Can’t anyone see us?”

“No, Vanthi cloaking device. We are invisible to heat, radar and vision. I imagine that both the Fleet and Demons have the ability to find us but no one on Earth can. There, we land there and my place is a half block in that direction.”

Once out of the field, Cindy looked back and commented, “I can’t see a thing. What if someone bumps into it? “

“Deflector convinces people to simply walk around it. It’s much easier than a lot of the better stuff.”

I hesitated at my door. Then unlocked and turned the knob and entered calling, “Jean, I’m home. We have guests,” but no answer.

We looked around, “At least the neighbors have been feeding Jean’s cats. I really don’t know what to do now.”

Kevin touched the answering machine and as I fetched us something to drink the tape played. The first two were friends who wanted to know how we liked Vegas, the third… “Eileen, this is Jean. I’m sorry but.. god this isn’t easy. You know I love you but I always told you I was straight and, well thanks for handling that problem for us, I know you’ll find a way to fix it. I’m sorry we took all the money but we needed it for our honeymoon. Well, god this is harder than I thought, you need to move out before Thursday. Bye, I’m really sorry I hurt you and hope you can be happy for me.. [beep]”

Only Kevin stopped me from hitting the floor as I fell. He started to say, “What a …” then Cindy said, “Shush, let her cry” and held me there on the floor. I did for a very long time.

Finally I stopped, or ran out of tears and said, “I suppose I have to pack now.” I managed to stand and stood there. Kevin asked finally, “What is yours?”

I looked and said, “Not much. I moved in with Jean. I was so busy paying her bills I never had a chance to buy much for me.”

In the end all that I owned, clothing, cosmetics, some jewelry and a few books fit in three shopping bags. Three bags for six months of my life. Even the weight of these couldn’t fill the hole in my guts.

We flew back to Vegas slowly, the ship on auto because I didn’t trust myself to fly. Then when we landed, I sat there. Finally, Cindy asked, “Where will you go now?”

“I don’t know. There are over 200 billion stars in the galaxy. Half those are G-type stars and half those have planetary systems. A tenth of those have Class-M worlds and a tenth of those are Earth-like. I’ve only seen a dozen of them.”

“And you fly this alone?”

“I do, mostly. I was going to ask Jean to go with me but…”

“It must be lonely at times?”

“It is.”

“Then can we go with you?”

“What?”

“Why not. We are retired, all that we own is in that RV and we get along well. I know you don’t love us but we are your friends and sometimes that is better than love.”

And that’s how it happened. They were right, sometimes friendship is better than love.

END

To contact me or to request topics to be covered, send to RikJohnson@juno.com
by: Rick Johnson
PO Box 40451
Tucson, Az.
85717

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