Children of Steel

by John Van Stry

  "Look," I said, gathering my thoughts and trying to take a non-threatening stance. "Terease is kind of like a member of my own family to me. I know she's really falling hard for you, and I want to know your feelings towards her."

  "Why?" He looked at me icily and started to slide into a fighting stance.

  "Because if you hurt her really bad," I could feel my palms sweating, and took a better stance myself. "I'll beat you to within an inch of your life. You know how innocent she still is; I won't sit around and let her get hurt!" I hissed out the last, my heart was racing. I was pretty good in an all out fight, but I knew I wasn't as good as him. At least not yet.

  "Think you can?" was all he said.

  "Think I care?" I growled back.

  "Probably not," He said suddenly relaxing, "and it's nice to know she's got a real friend in you Raj."

  "Well then? What's the story?" I tried to make myself relax; it didn't look like I was going to get my head beaten in tonight after all.

  "I love her too, that's the story." He smiled at me. "I'm just a little worried as to if it's too soon for her. I wish she had more experience, I'd hate for her to have any regrets. We're the only two lovers she's ever had."

  "Don't look at me!" I said grinning, "I never did that with her, not once!"

  He looked at me surprised, "You serious?"

  "She was a virgin when you slept with her, wasn't she?"

  "Well yeah, but I just assumed you had later. She spends a lot of time with you after all."

  "I know I care a lot for her, and I hope she does for me, but I just don't see us ever doing that. Our relationship just never went in that direction I guess."

  "Well then," he asked looking me in the eyes, "do you think she's ready for it?"

  "All I know," I replied stopping to look up at the stars, "is that if I had Cassandra here, I'd give up the others in a flash. Haven't you already done that?"

  "Yes, I have." he replied somewhat uncomfortably, "It's been driving the girls nuts too."

  "Well then, what makes you think she feels any different?"

  "Why haven't you and your girl become lifemates yet anyway?" he looked at me closely, "If you don't mind my asking."

  "No I don't mind," I replied quietly, "we knew it'd be years before we saw each other again and many more before we could work out a mutual assignment." I looked at the stars again, "And either one of us could die long before that. Truth is we were just too young."

  "You miss her a lot don't you?"

  "I miss them all, but her the most. We were especially close. I know the company psychologists felt it would be better for us to be apart for awhile, being from the same crèche and all, idiots." I spat out the last word vehemently.

  "Well it is a Leopard thing," he said with a shrug, "Lifemating wasn't that uncommon in our ancestors, and when you combine it with the human part, well you don't ever see any of us getting divorces do you?"

  "No, and I bet that's just another thing about us they can't stand." I said laughing, "Right up there with our good looks!"

  "Let's go back inside," he said grabbing my arm, "I want to have a talk with Terease, and I don't want to see you standing out here getting morose.

  "You know," he continued smiling as we walked, "I was waiting for this talk."

  "Oh, then why the fuss?"

  "Because Balizar is the one who said you'd be around."

  "Balizar?" I asked with disbelief.

  "Yup, right after we had the same talk this morning." He laughed then.

  We went back inside and he stopped for a second to whisper something to Katrine, then got Terease and they both disappeared for the rest of the evening.

  Katrine was especially nice to me that night.

  So it came as no surprise when Banner and Terease made the announcement that they had both chosen to lifemate. No surprise to me that is. Several of the others were, though I think that Herza, and Katrine had already figured out what was up.

  So once they told us it was pretty much a done deal. We all drank a few toasts, and even had a little party that night, having decided to leave Friday morning. It was nice to know that they wouldn't have to worry about being split up either.

  That was another one of the nice things about Tri-star. Once you had five years in, if you found a lifemate they would do everything possible to give you a joint assignment, even though few places and fewer corporations legally recognized lifematings. If they couldn't it was usually short-term, and while Terease didn't have five years in yet she wasn't indebted, so if they didn't give her what she wanted she could just threaten to quit and go there anyway.

  So everybody was in an up mood when we left the next morning, even Lyle who had sprained his arm falling out of a tree. We all teased him about that one, believe me.

  I called Kathy when we got back, she wasn't in, but it was early yet, so I left a message. I had to report for duty at noon the next day, actually everybody from the Astra did. We were supposed to load around the clock until Sunday evening. That was when the Astra was due to leave. I was going to miss Hobson's planet, it had been one of the most exciting and interesting weeks of my short life.

  Kathy called me back about one, I told her I was leaving tomorrow, and would she like to go out again tonight? She agreed, and I was to meet her at four, at the cafe. I tried to look up Gabe or Dave, but they were both out. I did run into Rudy, and we had a couple of beers while I was killing time.

  I told him about the place Gabe had taken me to and he seemed pretty interested in going there. When I told him of my little run in later on that night, he decide to get a friend or two as well. So I wished him luck and left to keep my date.

  I walked into the cafe, and immediately spied Kathy sitting in a booth by herself.

  "Hi Kathy," I said sitting down across from her, "been waiting long?"

  "Just a few minutes," she smiled at me across the table. "I just wish I had the nerve to have you meet me at the dorm."

  "Why? What's wrong with this?"

  "Oh, I'd just like to show you off a bit, even if some people wouldn't understand."

  "Afraid that they'd tell your father?"

  "A bit," she laughed. "I don't want him disowning me just yet, until I'm twenty he can still make some trouble for me," she admitted.

  "Come on, let’s go for a walk." I took her hand and we got up and went outside. "Mind walking? It's early yet."

  "No actually that's fine, where are we going anyway?" she asked looking up at me.

  "A nice place I stopped by a couple of nights ago, if I can find my way back there again that is," I laughed.

  "Fine with me." she said snuggling up against me. I put my arm around her and we walked off towards the center of the ani quarter.

  "Aren't you worried about anybody from school seeing you like this?" I teased.

  "Not really, the ones that would squeal to my dad wouldn't be caught dead around here."

  "Not good enough for them?"

  "No, too scared!" she laughed, "Most of the people who don't approve of this sort of thing are either cowards or bullies at heart." she smiled again, "But what about your reputation, won't anybody say anything?"

  "Most animen don't care, and any that do ..." I flexed my arm around her, "had better be smart enough to keep their mouth shut."

  "You wouldn't really, would you?"

  "Of course, why not?"

  "But it's not civilized!" she stated indignantly.

  "Oh? What's civilized? Letting people go round saying bad things about me and spreading nasty stories? That kind of thing can do more harm than a knife."

  "Yes, but you could take them to court."

  "I don't know anything about law." I stated flatly.

  "So that's why you get a lawyer, like me."

  "Listen," I said softly, "not to demean your profession or anything, but why should I have to spend money to defend my reputation? It's a lot simpler, and more fun, to just go pound a few heads. Anyway, as I recall animen can't sue aro
und here, not even each other."

  "I know that, but still it sounds so crude. You'd be having fights everywhere; people could be getting killed too."

  "When was the last time you saw two animen having an argument that turned into a fight?" I asked bluntly.

  "I really can't recall to be honest." she said after a couple of moments.

  "That's why we're polite to each other, well at least most of the time. Because you never know when you'll be called to task for what you say." I smiled at her while we continued walking through the streets.

  "But don't you end up with a lot of people being killed?" she frowned.

  "Not really, why should we kill each other? Our jobs will probably do that for us." I laughed.

  "I guess you have a point there, is it really that bad?" She asked concerned.

  "I honestly don't know for sure, I mean, they tell us it's fairly safe. But then you hear stories from some of the older hands and other things, like the Takeover Wars, that are in the history books."

  "So don't you worry at all?"

  "Sure, I worry all the time, but not about that! I like what I do. I worry about if the girls like me," I gave her a little squeeze, "I worry that I might get fined, I worry that I might say something stupid and have everyone mad at me."

  I looked around, we had come fairly far into the ani quarter by now and most of the people on the streets were animen. I even saw several mixed couples like us, and felt better about that. It was really a very nice part of town. The streets and shops were clean and everybody seemed happy and friendly.

  I spied a shop that sold jewelry and we both stopped to look through the window. Kathy pointed out a ring made of some dark metal that was in the likeness of a leopard's head.

  "Let's go in and take a look." I said.

  "Oh I don't know, it looks expensive." she hesitated.

  "So? It's my money, relax." and dragged her inside.

  I signaled the owner, who came over and asked if he could be of assistance.

  "Yes, could we see that leopard's head ring please?"

  "Ahh yes, I should have guessed." He smiled, "There's an artist in the valley who makes these," he got it out and handed it to Kathy, "she makes quite a few different types actually."

  "What metal is this?" asked Kathy, looking closely at the ring, and trying it on.

  "A perfect fit!" He smiled even broader. I guess he could see a sale coming from a mile away. "It's black chrome, that's why it shines so well. The eyes are made from small emeralds."

  "How much?" I asked him. Kathy was still looking at it on her finger, and toying with it.

  "Oh I could not let it go for less than five hundred sir." he responded.

  Kathy started to say something, but I put my hand on her arm to quiet her. I made a very low counter offer, and after a little haggling I got it for three fifty.

  "Done!" he said smiling while I got out the cash.

  "Raj! Are you sure you can afford this?" Kathy whispered as we headed for the door.

  "I just want you to have something to remember me by," I smiled, "who knows when we'll see each other again?"

  "Or if, right?" She gave me a hug, "Thank you very much."

  We had come to the place I was looking for by then, the same restaurant that Herza had taken me to after the fights Monday night.

  "I could see you liked it, and so could he. So I wasn't about to let you leave without it." I led her inside the restaurant and we were seated at a nice table in the back.

  Dinner was a nice affair, the food was pretty good and the company excellent. We had started a little early, so we got to watch the place fill up as we ate. I was quite surprised to see a lot of humans among the clientele. When I mentioned it to our waitress, a very pretty and petite fox, she smiled and said that 'To most people, it's the quality of the food that counts'. I guess so.

  We finished around eight, and I asked Kathy if she wanted to go to the club we had first met at, or maybe someplace else.

  "Actually," she gave me a sexy smile, "I've got a different idea."

  "And what would that be?" I wasn't sure what she had in mind.

  "Karen lent me the key to her place while she's away. Let's go there," She took my hand and led me outside. So I'm a little slow on the uptake sometimes, okay?

  "That's fine with me, but it is kind of early yet."

  "You are leaving tomorrow right?" she asked as I flagged down a cab, I didn't feel like any run-ins tonight.

  "Yes, I have to be back before noon." One pulled up fairly quickly and I opened the door and helped her in.

  "Well," she said as I got in next to her, "What I have planned is going to take all night!" and she started kissing me and doing little things with her hands.

  I responded whole heartedly.

  We didn't fall asleep that night until the morning sun started to come through the curtains. When I finally drifted off I had Kathy curled up in my arms and tucked under my chin with my tail curled possessively around her.

  10

  We were awakened by Karen knocking on the door about ten.

  "Is it safe to come in?" she asked through the door.

  "Wait, a sec." I replied laughing, "I'll see if we can't think of something lewd."

  "In that case!" she opened the door and walked in. We were lying naked on the bed, of course in my case it really didn't matter.

  "Oh, good morning." said a groggy Kathy as she woke up, "Any coffee out there yet?"

  "Yes, Gabe's brewing it."

  "Good." and she got up and walked naked out into the kitchen.

  I guess nudity wasn't really such a taboo among some humans either.

  "You two have a good night?" asked Karen smiling.

  "Yes actually, and thanks for the use of the apartment," I got up and started to head for the kitchen, I could smell the coffee now. "Where'd you go anyway?"

  I walked into the kitchen, and saw Gabe, Dave and Terry. Dave was giving Kathy an appreciative look. I walked up and put my arms around her from behind.

  "We went out to my folks place for a couple of days," she said following me into the kitchen. "I wanted to get away from this place for a while, and the rest came along."

  "Too bad you weren't around Raj," said Gabe, "her folks are really nice, and they've got a really large spread."

  "Sounds interesting," I said. "The whole clan went out to some 'Cats only' place in the mountains. It was pretty nice too."

  Kathy handed me a cup of coffee and rubbed up against me while we drank. I looked at the clock, by cab we could get to the plant with time to spare if we left by ten thirty. I finished the coffee and looked down at Kathy, she smiled and rubbed back into me again.

  "What time are you guy's leaving anyway?" I asked doing a little rubbing myself.

  "In a half hour I guess," said Dave laughing. "So you two better hurry."

  We bolted for the bedroom, leaving the rest laughing in the kitchen. It was the nicest goodbye anybody ever said to me, even if it was a little rushed.

  The ride back was uneventful; Gabe and Dave told me about their trip, and Karen's parents. It sounded like they did have a pretty good time, and I wondered a little about Gabe and Karen, but figured that was due to Banner and Terease getting hitched. We reported in with a little time to spare and I even got to take a quick shower.

  The whole process of ferrying everybody back up to the Astra was done in a few trips. We spent the next twenty hours shipping cargo and the occasional late arrival. Gabe told me later that he was surprised that nobody had jumped ship, but Rudy said that with all the animen and the big company influence you probably wouldn't get away with it.

  The two biggest surprises we had were that first, when we got to the Astra, we saw that the second Cargo module was gone and replaced with a troop module. Word was officially passed to us that it was empty, and that on our next stop we were to pick up a company of Tri-Star's troops.

  The second was the human who had dropped Rudy off at the plant. Not only was sh
e a really attractive human girl, but she looked pretty rich too. On top of that Rudy was exhausted. I still think furless tails are ugly, but I guess there's no accounting for taste, huh?

  When the loading had been completed, we got the shuttles squared away while the ship was prepared for departure. Six hours later we broke orbit and were on our way.

  About half a day later I came on duty in the shuttle bay. We were back on alert, but going out was a lot safer than coming in because even if someone should break out near us, their vector would be opposite of ours. So they'd be moving away too quickly to attack.

  When I got into the flight room I was surprised to see that the poker game was already back in full swing.

  "Hey Raj," said one of the other pilots, "pull up a chair we could use your money!" The others laughed a bit at that.

  "Sure." I walked over to the table, and pulling a robe out of my helmet bag, I wrapped my tail around my waist put it on and sat down.

  "Now," I said smiling wickedly, "shut up and deal!"

  The whole group broke up at that, and it took a few minutes for the laughing to die down.

  "Who talked?" asked the same pilot who had invited me to play, he was a wolf named Klein.

  "Between a couple of hints and a few things a girl I met said, I managed to figure it out on my own." I had to laugh then too. "I even managed to win some money, so let's play!"

  The trip out turned out to be uneventful. As for the gambling, I held my own fairly well, and while I did manage a couple of good wins, in the end I was still down about thirty dollars. Now if I could only learn when to fold, I might start to end up ahead.

  Life returned to normal pretty quickly after we left Hobson's. The girls were taking turns spending their nights with me, which I really enjoyed, it's always nice to share your bed with a pretty woman, even if sometimes you're only sleeping.

  On the night we were to go into jump, I was quite surprised to find Terease, of all people, in my room.

  "What are you doing here? Anything wrong?" I asked concerned.

  "No, Banner has to work through the night shift tonight, and he knows I hate to sleep alone now. As he also knows that you won't lay a hand on me, he suggested I come here." she smiled happily at me, "I'm so glad he's mine, he's always so concerned about me!"