I felt kind of slow. It made sense that I would. All my blood had rushed from my brain to my crotch, so thinking was tough for a few minutes.
I said, “Groggily, can we go back to the stateroom for a while. Maybe rest for a minute? Or suck on Michelle’s tits for a while longer?”
Michelle got off my lap and I was gravely disappointed as I felt the warmth of her body replaced by the much cooler air of the ship. The girls each took an arm and we walked across the hall to our living quarters.
Once we were comfortably on the bed, Michelle on my right and Bailey on my left, Bailey said, “I missed out again.”
I turned my head to look at her the best I could and she smiled and kissed me and said, “I’ll get my chance.”
I said, “So, Michelle, are you saying what I think you’re saying?”
Michelle said, “I think so, Jimmy, but I can’t figure out what we’d do with a fourth nipple. One for you, one for Bailey, and one for the other Unit, but Ee doesn’t have lips, so why a fourth?”
I looked puzzled and she said, “Teasing! What do you think that I’m saying? This should be good.”
I said, “Oh, you think it will be funny, huh? OK, I think that you’re saying that you are going to make your boobs produce milk and that Bailey and I will suck your tits for breakfast instead of having to walk all the way to the drink dispenser. That we’ll wake up and roll on top of you and suck your pretty cantaloupes from now on.”
Michelle said, “No.”
I laughed and said, “I didn’t really think so. So what were you saying?”
Michelle said, “I was saying that it would be about two days before we could do that. We can do that ‘from now on’ starting in two days, but I’m going to try to hurry.”
I was a bit dumbstruck. But I could tell that she wasn’t lying.
I said, “Battlefield capabilities?”
She said, “Yes. My Unit type is combat-ready. That includes medical and even surgical training. If I were deployed to a military post, I would have been configured with emergency hydration and nourishment production. But it seems like you think it would be attractive, so I’ll activate that capability.”
Bailey said, “I find it attractive as well. Michelle, I’ll do it too, if I can. You might need to help me find the configuration necessary. We don’t normally get affection. We were conditioned not to expect it and to live as best we can without it. But now that we have it, wouldn’t it be wonderful to share it the way that Jimmy described it? To have you and Jimmy suckling me, and me feeding you and sharing my body in a way that nourishes you physically as well as emotionally? Jimmy, are my breasts too small?”
I said quickly, “No! They’re beautiful. If you want to change them, you can, but I love them the way that they are. And Michelle, you too. Please leave yours just the way they are. I um, wondered what design function there was to them being the um, perfect size for your body the way that they are, but the battlefield requirements make sense.”
Michelle said, “No, you just like big titties. But yeah, they were designed for a function, even if I didn’t expect to be deployed where it was needed. The bigger they are, the more fluid they hold. Right?”
I said, “So, what does it taste like?”
Michelle said, “How would I know?”
I said, “Good point.”
Ee said cheerfully, “Well kids, it’s time.”
I said, “To wake up our last sleeping beauty?”
Ee said, “Yep. Same as the last two times.”
I hopped off the bed, feeling happy and the three of us went to the storage bay.
I knew what I was doing, having been through it twice before. I cut away the bag, gave her a shot of the stimulant, waited for her to open her eyes, and said the password. Easy as pie.
But when I went to lead her to the washing station, things were different this time. She didn’t follow me. She just laid there. Her eyes were open, but she didn’t respond.
I said calmly, “Ee, is something wrong?”
Ee said, “Yes.”
I said, “What is it?”
Michelle said quickly, “What’s her vitals?”
Ee said, “Heart rate even and normal. Blood pressure low. Temperature low. Brain function low. There has been damage. It may be temporary.”
Michelle said, “Crap. I was afraid of this. We need to get her warm, hydrated, and get some blood to her brain. Get her into the washing station. Jimmy, hold her up while I hose her down.”
I rushed to climb in the little shower and Michelle hoisted the girl off the table and handed her to me. Putting my arms around her chest, I held her upright while Michelle sprayed her with the cleansing agent. When the girl was wet, Michelle grabbed her from me and turned around so that her back faced outward and Bailey used the hose while I rubbed the girl’s skin to loosen the goop.
Michelle said, “The rest will wait. Let’s get her to the stateroom. Ee, get the shower ready and make it warm. Ten degrees above body temperature. There is a soaking tub in the stateroom, isn’t there? Get it ready.”
Throwing our damaged Unit over her shoulder unceremoniously, we all ran back to my stateroom. We went straight to the shower.
Michelle said, “Jimmy, sit down. I’m going to put her across your lap. Let her head hang down on the floor. Bailey, you get at her feet and hold her legs up. You can sit down and put them on your shoulders. Both of you start rubbing. I’ll start rinsing. Get the cracks, but don’t stimulate her sexually. We need her blood in her head, not her groin. Ee, raise the temperature another five degrees. Is everyone OK? Can we go higher? Good. Ee, go another five degrees.”
Michelle worked quickly and Bailey and I helped with rinsing the cleanser off the Unit’s body. We had to turn her over at one point and I had her rear end sitting across my lap. She had a great rear. I wasn’t supposed to be enjoying any of this, but she was so round and firm that I couldn't help it. It didn’t do any harm.
We made sure that she was completely washed and Michelle had Ee shut off the water. She wanted us to go ahead and apply the conditioner before we moved the girl. It was awkward, but we got it done quickly.
Michelle grabbed the girl and settled her into the hot water of the soaking tub. The conditioner would be washed off some, but it would also mix with the water and condition her while she warmed up.
This was nothing like what I had done with Michelle and Bailey when I “unpacked” them. This was a crisis. I didn’t know the full extent of what was happening, but I understood enough. The girl was in danger. We were going to save her if we could.
Looking down at her in the tub, I said, “Is she going to die?”
Michelle barked, “No! Nobody dies on my watch.”
We left her in the water for what I thought might be about twenty minutes.
Michelle said, “OK, get her to the sofa. Get all the blankets we have.”
Michelle picked the girl up and she and I held her in the shower to be dried for a minute while Baily stripped the bed. A blanket was placed under the girl and Michelle gave her a second shot of the stimulant without waiting for the girl to ask for it. We wrapped her up like a baby in swaddling and then took our first breath.
I said, “Michelle, tell me the truth. Is she going to die?”
Michelle looked at me and then reached for my hand and said, “Probably not. It isn’t as bad as Eevona and I might have made it seem. We did need to hurry, but we could be OK. Bailey, get a bottle of fluids. This is why it’s better to have me produce the stuff myself. It’s hard to get fluids into an unconscious person, but even like this, we are conditioned to suck on a teat if one is placed in our mouth. The bottles are actually meant to simulate it, but the temperature and natural flesh of a breast make the instinct kick in easier. Jimmy, you did good. You care about this one, don’t you?”
I said, “Her name is Alison.”
Bailey said, “I just love you more and more. Are all men on your planet like this?”
I stare
d at Alison and said, “No. What do you mean? Like what?”
Michelle said softly, “Sweetie, don’t get mad. I know this is Alison, not a Unit. I know that. But damaged Units get thrown away. With less effort at saving them than we are putting into it. Alison is ours. I get that. But Sweetie, there’s a problem. I told you about it. Bailey, this one’s a freak.”
Bailey said, “Oh. I’m so sorry. I’ll do what I can.”
Michelle said, “But we have to give her a choice. It’s up to her.”
I said, “What’s up to her.”
Bailey said, “She has a choice about whether to stay with us or not. She has options. But it’s probably more complicated than that. Even if what she decides isn’t what we think is best for her, she has the choice. But she’s an abnormal configuration.”
Michelle said, “I explained what I could. We didn’t go into details. I didn’t think it would help.”
Bailey said, “Good thought. I can help with the psychological aspects to a point. Probably not much, but I’ll do what I can. What’s her physical condition?”
Ee went over the Unit, Alison’s, vitals and Michelle said, “Her body temperature is rising. That’s good. We need to get fluids into her.”
Michelle cradled Alison and got the girl to drink sip by sip. After several minutes, it seemed like she was starting to take the bottle on her own. It looked very much like nursing a baby. Alison was sort of awake, but not fully conscious. Like when I had washed Michelle and Bailey. They could follow what I helped them do, but they couldn’t take initiative on their own. Alison was in that state, but in an even more diminished way. She could drink from the bottle but not walk or sit.
I asked quietly, “Um, should I touch her or something? Like I did with you guys?”
I wasn’t trying to get frisky. I was just grasping at straws for how I might help.
Bailey sighed and looked at me compassionately and said, “Jimmy, I see that this is going to be hard on you. When I asked if all men on your planet were like you, I meant are they caring and concerned for things even like a freak. I love you for it. She’s one of our kind, so we have feelings about this. But other people won’t.”
I said harshly, “Our kind. She’s our kind. My kind as well as yours. I don’t care what the problem is, if we can care for her, we will.”
Bailey put her hand on my arm and said, “I know. Of course we will. But Jimmy, she’s an Entertainment Unit. She won’t understand.”
I looked at the little bit of Alison’s face that I could see beneath the blankets and said, “I don’t understand.”
Bailey said, “I know. And we shouldn’t try to explain it until Alison is awake and healthy. Michelle and I will take care of her. You can help us. But you shouldn’t bond with her at all yet.”
I said, “It’s too late.”
Bailey said, “It’s too late for you. You feel for her. You care for her. But so far, she doesn’t care for you. And if she did, it would make it worse on her. She’d probably have a breakdown because of the conflict. If you make her develop feelings for you now, she’ll be too confused to make her choice. And then she would become dangerous. That’s probably the best way for you to think about this for now. If she starts to love you the way that Michelle and I do, it will be dangerous for all of us, especially her. I’ll know more once I can talk to her. Jimmy, what can I do for you?”
Michelle said, “Take him to get some work done. Take him back to the storage room and clean things up. Then go and get a small room ready. This one…”
I interrupted and said, “Alison.”
Michelle said, “Alison will need her own quarters. Have Ee take you to the smallest room we have. Get a bed ready for her. Fill several bottles and have them ready for me. Fluids and warmth are our best bet right now.”
Bailey said, “Come on Jimmy, let’s go get a little work done. The storage bay needs some attention. We’ll start there.”
I was reluctant to leave Michelle and Alison alone but the girls insisted that it was the best thing for right now.
The storage bay was in worse shape than I had remembered it. There were puddles of goop on the floor and the insides of the drawers were a mess. It was good that we were naked for this. It was messy.
We opened the drawers one by one and pulled out the remnants of the transport bags. The floor had a drain in it and the goop just splashed on the floor at our feet. The bag itself we hosed down in the washing station and then we held them to air dry them as best we could. They were scrap now and went into a garbage chute to be used for fuel by Eevona later.
When the three bags were disposed of, Bailey took the wand with the cleanser and started hosing down the beds and floors. I found a squeegee and mopped the floor as the goop dissolved. The final step was to rinse all of the surfaces and leave the drawers open. Ee would heat the room and dehumidify it to make sure everything was perfectly dry.
From there, we went back toward the crew section of the ship and found a small stateroom next to the galley, close to my quarters. It wasn’t the smallest one on the ship. The smallest were closets with six bunks to a room. Not at all comfortable, but apparently Eevona was outfitted for transporting Units and crew that were not in storage at times as well.
The room was smaller than mine. There was a double bed, a desk, and a comfortable chair. There was no bathroom; the occupant would use a common restroom nearby. Bailey thought that it was suitable and we unpacked bedding and made the bed. We found drinking bottles in the cupboard and filled them from a dispenser in the room. It seemed that the hydration fluid was a staple on board and was made available just about everywhere. Bailey asked Ee to tell Michelle that the room was ready and then told me that we’d go to the lounge where we ate and start making some lunch.
I wanted to stay and help Michelle in any way that I could and tried to claim that I wasn’t hungry, but Bailey wouldn't hear of it.
She held my arm and we entered the kitchen and said, “Jimmy, I get it. I really do. But trust me. For now, you have to stay away from her emotionally. You have to convince yourself that she might not stay with us. Her function is incompatible with life on Eevona.”
I said, “I can’t accept that. Michelle explained it to me. If she doesn’t have a partnership, she goes rogue and gets hunted and killed. Or she gives up and kills herself. Or something like that. She has to be part of the crew or at least have a partnership. Didn’t Michelle tell me Cargo, Crew, Concubine, Contract, Castoff, or Chameleon? She explained it. Alison isn’t cargo now. She doesn’t have a partnership, so if she leaves, she is left to fend for herself. She has to stay with us. It isn’t safe for her otherwise.”
Bailey started preparing lunch and said, “Yes. I know. That’s how it is. But because she doesn’t have a partnership, she gets to make that choice.”
I said, “But we offer her a place here and she chooses that. I don’t see the problem. I can bond with her like I did with you and Michelle. Or just offer her partnership. Or we lie to her and tell her that I was always her partner. If she’s damaged or something, we have to. It isn’t entirely wrong if it’s for her own good and it’s the only way to save her. And it isn’t much of a lie and it isn’t depriving her of anything.”
Bailey said, “I understand what you are saying. If she were a child, maybe I’d go along with that. Telling her something that is almost true but not entirely accurate for her own safety. But she’s an adult. Well, a Unit anyway. She has agency. She gets to make her own choices and taking that away from her is against everything I believe. If she doesn’t have a choice, she’s a slave. You don’t want that.”
I said, “But you didn’t have a choice, did you? You had that partnership thing and had to do whatever you were told. Wasn’t that the same?”
She said, “No. You are missing it. Yes, I had a partnership arrangement that would have taken effect upon delivery. And I had choices. Yes, if I stayed with the partner, I pretty much had to do what they told me to. If I was sent on contrac
t by them, I had to do what the contract said. But Jimmy, listen to me, I could leave at any time. I could go rogue. I would suffer the consequences, but I had that choice. I also had the choice to better my circumstances based on my interactions with the partner. And I would always have the choice to simply refuse an order. And then the partner could decide if they were going to send me on low-survivability assignments or cast me off. I would do what was best for me. Don’t people where you come from do that?”
I thought for a moment. My initial reaction was that we certainly did not. Not in civilized countries at least. No, we didn’t do that.
But then I took a breath and thought again. As far as I could remember, just before Ee picked me up, I had been sitting in my backyard doing bonsai. I did that as a way to relax and meditate. After work. When I got home from my job. Where I was subject to whatever craziness the company had put me through that day. No matter how ludicrous management was. In fact, I was a very senior engineer, but that week I had been assigned to do low-level quality assurance testing because our QA manager hadn’t hired enough staff for his department. So they thought it would be no big deal to ask highly paid engineers to do work that they could have hired temporary employees with very little skill to do. It was sort of demeaning and even insulting. Several of us, probably all of us, started considering looking for another job. But I put up with it. The benefits at the company were good and finding a new job was a hassle. So I put up with it and gritted my teeth and came home and spent time with my plants.
Maybe it wasn’t so different. It wasn’t that different at all. How was it any different? I was trained for a job and conditioned to act in certain ways toward my employer. If things got bad, I’d leave. But if I left, I’d have to find a way to support myself and at different times during my life, new jobs were hard to find. I had friends and relatives who spent so much time unemployed that they finally gave up. It was the same for a Unit. They couldn’t just go get a new partnership but they could convince their partner, through their actions, to send them away to do different work. Or they could quit and become homeless.
First Recruits Page 11