Defiance

by Sean Liebling

  "Captain, sir. I apologize for my behavior. This is unlike me, I admit I am attracted to him but his smell, his attitude is simply driving me crazy. It's like my will has been stripped from my body. I am not in control right now," she murmured as her hands clenched tightly together, although she made no move to get out of his lap.

  "No you are fine, Ensign. Those males of Paradise exude a pheromone that woman appear to be susceptible too. Enough of that and don't worry, now what were you going to say, Jack?" spoke the Captain as he gave her a kindly smile.

  "You need us as what we call a quick reaction force to subdue uprisings on planets, in return you will protect us and allow us to advance in our technology, as you call it. You will remove the sentries that would kill us and be our protection instead. I assume you have a means of teaching us this new technology quickly. Right?" both men nodded. "Okay, I get the impression of two things. Once those sentries are eliminated, we will not have a thousand years, but instead the timeframe until these Malum arrive will be much shorter."

  "Yes, approximately five to ten years on the Malum's arrival and yes on the teaching. We have what are called hypno helmets that can teach you all the required knowledge in days. We also have what we call fabricators that will build that tech for you, to include new mining equipment. You need to understand that your world is three times larger than normal and it has quite a few resources. You also have an asteroid belt, I'll explain later what that is, but you have almost unlimited metals that can be used for the cause," spoke Andros.

  "I see and what is the normal timeframe for bringing up a world to your standards?" he asked.

  "Usually ten years. It goes pretty quick," said Andros. "Improved infrastructure is the most time consuming, such as roads, sanitation facilities and water and irrigation systems, that sort of thing."

  "How many Malum are there?" he asked as he slid Caitlin's upper tunic upward and caressed the bare skin of her belly, an action that caused her to purr even louder.

  "In this galaxy? approximately a hundred, give or take. That is realistically all this galaxy can support, as they need to feed off the wholesale slaughter of souls to replenish their energy. All told combining the other galaxies in this universe, perhaps millions," replied Henricus, as he stared at what Jack was doing to Caitlin, a frown upon his face. He looked as if he wished to say something, but refrained.

  "I assume I will be spending the night aboard your vessel?" asked Jack as he lifted Caitlin off his lap and set her in her chair beside him.

  "Yes, we planned on that and will deliver you back in the morning. I wanted to show you the ship and the equipment your troops would be wearing if they helped us."

  "Fair enough, but I am ready, this is not a big deal. I would speak with your council, now."

  "Ahh, I think you are jumping ahead. We have hours before we must report to the council, they can wait while we instruct you further." Andros spoke, his voice strong with concern written upon his expression.

  "No need. Gather them or whatever it is you do," said Jack as he turned, kissed Caitlin again then squeezed her thigh as he waited. Again, both men across from him rolled their eyes as Henricus nodded. Jack immediately stood as the wall changed to brightness and near the end of the table, fifteen occupied chairs materialized.

  "Captain Ketchum. This is a bit early for our conference with your guest. Do you not need more time?"

  "That is not up to me counselor; our guest has decided he wishes to speak with you now and not later.

  "This is acceptable, the sooner the better." The amorphous figure spoke with the Captain and then turned his attention to Jack. "You of Paradise. Do you understand our laws and requirements?" Jack waved a hand at the comment and strode to the front of the table, facing the counselors directly.

  "I have no need to understand your laws, all I need to understand are your actions and your needs. Let me be blunt, if I may."

  "Please do."

  "You currently have over a hundred and thirty worlds under your control that are violating your laws in somewhat open insurrection, correct?"

  "Well, they obey most of them. Not all, but most. We are working on it." The voice was now flustered and sounded unsure. Inwardly Jack smiled, as he now had them in the palm of his hand.

  "And, doing a bad job from my perspective. How do you intend to quell their revolts and uprisings against each other?

  "Well, we were hoping your people could assist in that," remarked another.

  "I see, so in return for our help, you pacify these planets and we get protection and technology, as it's called. Does that sum it up?"

  "Well yes, but it's more than that, You must agree to obey our laws and abide by our humans rights standards," sputtered a third member of the council. The rest were leaning forward in their chairs, their faces blurs to Jack, until he began to subtly shift his position.

  "Wait, let me get this straight. You are making a decision based upon your law, yet you allow over a hundred of your subject planets to violate that law? One hundred and thirty three to be exact. Do I have that right?"

  "It is much more complicated than that."

  "No, I don't think so. I understand you do not like the fact we have slaves. Would that be a fair assessment?

  "Yes, it goes against our basic principles. Even those worlds that have civil strife do not own slaves," spoke the first and dead center in the semi-circle of fifteen chairs.

  "In your world's history, did you ever keep slaves?"

  "Yes, most cultures have. Shortly after our own industrial revolution, when the need for slaves no longer had merit, the practice was abolished. A civil war ensued, but we prevailed."

  "I see, but we have not been allowed to experience our own industrial revolution and the need for slaves is still great. Do you see the difference?" There was a long pause before the council representative spoke again.

  "Well, I suppose."

  "I thought so. And...the slaves love their masters. Ours is a refined culture. Perhaps more so than yours. I do not mean to denigrate you, but witness this!" Jack turned and snapped his fingers to Caitlin, who rose in shock. She looked bewildered and confused. "Come here my pretty flower and into my arms!" he commanded, and she did. Walking forward and then wrapped her arms around him. He simply smiled at her and caressed her cheek as she laid her face against his palm. Caitlin was completely obedient and what Jack expected, as he turned to the counselors and remarked.

  "Do you not see my love for her? My affection? She is mine as surely as if she were on my world. Do you see the difference? On my world, we enslave, whereas on your worlds you incarcerate. You coddle your criminals, yet we do not and have not for thousands of years. Our crime rate is extremely low, less than one percent. What is yours? Before you answer that, ask yourselves this. This girl, this Ensign Caitlin, has accepted my dominance without reservation. I am a man and those of Paradise are men. We are strong. You need troops and we can provide them. You need to take the fight to the Malum and we can provide that. You speak out of ignorance of the true situation. You will accept us for whom we are and we will help solve your current problems. You are either part of the solution or part of the problem. The choice is yours," intoned Jack, as he gathered Caitlin up into his arms again and kissed her hard until she was shivering under his hands.

  "We'll discuss this and talk shortly." This was from a fourth member of the council and the chairs disappeared in a wink.

  "Well, you certainly pissed them off," remarked Andros, in a nonchalant manner.

  "Oh, I don't think so. I think I made them reflect on the nature of their existence and what is really important in life," grinned Jack, as he clutched Caitlin to his side and continued. "I wish to be shown to my room. I have something I need to do."

  'Ahh, right this way, remarked Andros, as Henricus simply stared at Jack, a horrified expression upon his face.

  *****

  Chapter 20:

  Ivy smiled as a child brought her a small loaf of bread, steaming h
ot with a mixture of meats and vegetables stuffed within. She savored the first bite and when she was chewing, the others of the tribe all began eating. Before her was a large mug of mead, but she only sipped from it sparingly, because she knew she would be fighting shortly.

  They were currently in the camp of the Amazons and while a great many men walked about, there were more male slaves than free males and Ivy marveled at that. Conrad and the men seemed to be taking it in stride, but not her. What also surprised her was that the camp was more a collection of open market atmosphere and skin walled huts. A great many skin walled huts and close to a thousand, if she were any judge. Its boundaries stretched for at least a half mile and the smell was horrendous. They really needed to learn about sanitation.

  "We cannot be more than ten miles from Ashton, how can this village exist here? I thought they were outlaws, master Conrad?" she whispered to Conrad, as she chewed on her savory meat roll.

  "Well, they are and they aren't. Our potentate pretty much leaves enforcement of the laws up to Jack, our Commander. He seems to take great delight in capturing them from time to time, using them, and then freeing them to be caught again later. Consider it a friendly game of tag." Conrad smirked, as gravy dribbled down his chin and she simply laughed, as Andrea snorted beside her.

  "That is exactly what it is like. Ours is one of the larger villages and only because Jack has his fun. You might say, at our expense, but in reality, the women here enjoy his company greatly and many go out of their way to provide a challenge to him. He won't use them if they are too easily caught you know."

  "Has he used any recently?" Ivy inquired innocently, but the look did not escape Andrea.

  "No, not since he captured you, according to Conrad," she smirked at Ivy's blush and finished eating her meat roll, a typical noon repast, Ivy was to find out.

  "You and Conrad talk? Just how close are the two of you?" asked Ivy, as she laid her half-finished meat roll on a fern, serving as a plate, beside her. "Be a dear and save this for me. We can heat it up on a pan over the fire after I'm finished," she said to the male child behind her, all of maybe eight years old and watching her with interest. He nodded quickly and placed another fern over it to protect it from dust.

  "Close enough. Consider us old friends." This was accompanied by a grunt from Conrad, who had the decency to look away at that moment.

  "Come on, it's time to start your training. Get your warriors together." Slapping Andrea on the stomach, Ivy rose and walked towards what she thought was an open air training ground, because she spotted bales of straw at the end, typically used for archery.

  "Wahh what? We just ate? We wait an hour," sputtered the Amazon.

  "So your enemies confer with you first before attacking, to see if your latest meal is properly digested?" snorted Ivy over her shoulder as she kept walking.

  Upon arriving at the camp, Ivy was presented with standard female Amazon clothing to cover her nakedness. Once Conrad had given his permission, Ivy had quickly dressed in leather pants and jerkin, over close fitting undergarments of light grey. They felt comfortable, soft yet slightly stiff and did not afford her the freedom of action that either her silks, or being naked provided. Still, at least she was clothed. She waited until at least a hundred Amazons formed up before her and finally began speaking.

  "Successful fighting relies on three things. Speed, accuracy in a strike and dodging strikes from your opponents. You, come here," Ivy commanded one of the girls closest too her, A woman, perhaps in her late twenties with a hardened expression upon her face. Ivy had seen this particular one glaring at her from time to time during their meal and wanted to nip this in the bud. "Master Conrad, I will also need your assistance if you would be so kind, or one of your men." She saw Conrad wave to one of the men, who quickly ran up to her. "Master Josen, isn't it?" she asked of the Warrior, who nodded. Ivy continued her lecturing as Conrad and others sat around the perimeter, close to them.

  "Now girl, try to strike me, anywhere you can," she commanded the Amazon who stood before her.

  "You are a slave and not worth my contempt, but I will beat you senseless, unlike our former leader. You are not worthy of the title," snarled the woman and in a blazing fast move, she attempted to land a blow on Ivy's face. Ivy however moved, if only her head, tilting it to the side, letting the fist brush past. Another blow followed and this time Ivy tilted her head in the opposite direction, letting that punch glide past also. The third strike came in the form of a frontal kick, and sinking her body lower, she swiveled to the side and as the foot went past where her midsection had been a moment before, slapped upward, dumping the girl on her butt.

  "You are seriously, hopelessly slow. Someone bring me a straw manikin if you have one. Like those they use for guards training and some red paint." Two Amazons nodded and took off running, as the female Ivy had bested, rose with a face burning with embarrassment. "Go stand with the others, you need training," directed Ivy. Humbly, the other did as she was told.

  "Now, many of you consider yourselves the equal of men, and perhaps with bows or spears you are. However, not in manual combat. Watch closely." A circle had formed around them with the front ranks sitting and those behind them either crouching or standing so that most could see. "Josen, may this girl hit you please?"

  "Sure go ahead," he smiled as he said this and instantly Ivy was attacking. Ten strikes she gave, two each to Josen's chest, groin, throat and both biceps. Throughout her strikes, he remained almost motionless and only dropped his chin as the two strikes to the throat came close. Her hands were slightly numb from hitting his jaw and she did force him to take a half step back as he absorbed the blows. He was obviously unhurt and smiled softly at her. All the guard loved her.

  "Did you girls see that? He simply absorbed my blows. The physicians say that male body mass is denser than a females and this illustrates it. Now Master Josen, Please try to stop my next strike." As she spoke she was already aiming a blow to his chest, a fist he caught by the wrist while it was still over six inches from his body. He held it tightly in a rock hard clasp and smiled at her again. His move had been a blur and while she might have broken free had she held a knife, she currently did not. nor did she wish too. This was to prove a point.

  "See," she shouted." There is little way you can defeat a male warrior that is sufficiently trained unless you use a couple different methods. Obviously, bows are one. Swords are not. Darts are another and maybe spears. Knives might work, but that's iffy. It really depends on the males training. I will ask my master to send guardsmen over to start training you. Deal with it. Now, the straw dummy." Ivy paused, as the dummy was finally placed before her. "You need to gain in quickness, as it is your only hope. You all mostly look at me as a slave, but I was not always such. Before submitting to my hard, yet wonderful master, I helped in our latest skirmish with Turnin. Master Josen, would you please inform them how I helped?"

  "First, I want to admit that those blows Ivy gave me actually did hurt and some a lot. I simply didn't let that show to you women. I think the best explanation is that although they hurt like hell, they did not incapacitate me. Now about Ivy. Well, she used to be a thief, a damn good one in fact, but finally the Commander caught her in the act. It was all he needed to collar her, which he did of course." Josen seemed to warm to the subject and after winking at her, he continued. "We didn't always like her, as normally she was simply a thief and pain in the ass. She was hard to catch, but eventually she slipped up. However, since she was collared and willingly submitted to my Commander, she has been a gem. Every day she carries our meals to us at the gates. She does not do this because she's commanded, she does this because she honestly likes the guard and respects us. During that battle with Turnin a few nights ago, she personally killed five of the enemy using a bow, so when she gives you advice, follow it. She knows whereof she speaks. She also saved the lives of six other guardsmen and frankly, she ordered other slaves, free and the physicians around as if she was the boss and not th
em. I suppose it's safe to say they considered her so, as she was the only one there with any brains in their head as the Commander was seriously wounded and unconscious. There is not a man among us who would not take her as slave and we all consider her friend. In fact, if you're curious, after she patched up Conrad here, she took his bow without permission and used it to kill those five Turnin as they were attacking her master at the main side gate."

  "I forgave her," laughed Conrad, to the laughs of the assembled Amazons.

  "Master Josen, would you and your guards under you consent to training my new sisters?" asked Ivy breathlessly as she grabbed the pot of red paint and dabbed some on the straw dummies throat, belly, chest and both arms.

  "Sure, why not. I'm sure there are fringe benefits, after all. But Amazons, let me show you what Ivy was about to demonstrate. I can do it quicker, but trust me, we've let her train with us so I know this is a simple task for that girl." He laughed as he waved to a nearby girl. "Girl, may I borrow that feather in your hair? Just for a moment, little one." He smiled kindly at her and smiling back, she approached and handed it out."No simply drop it from waist height," he said as he faced the straw dummy. with a flip of her hand, she did so.

  Instantly, Josen moved and two strikes impacted the heart, throat, both arms and lower belly, all before the feather touched the ground.

  "This is what Ivy was referring too. Speed, quickness, whatever you wish to call it. If you can't make ten strikes in less than five seconds, you have no business fighting men. You will all practice this regimen and your strikes will be accurate. I'll have better straw dummies brought from the barracks. By the way, Ivy can do this as I stated earlier. You saw her hit me, if those had been knives, I may have been a dead man. However, tomorrow we also start on archery and how to shoot fast and accurately," Josen smirked, as he winked at Ivy again and stepped back to Conrad's side, picked his mug of mead up from the ground where it sat undisturbed and began sipping from it again. Ivy took that moment to step in and speak.