by Greg Chase
An image of Joshua behind a large antique executive desk flashed across Sara’s eyes and made her smile. “Did it work?”
Gray flecked the temples of his short cut hair. “It did. We can track Arry anywhere she goes. The same should be true of anyone you connect to the solar transfer array if they’re also connected to one of the Moons’ networks.”
“And you can understand them? You have access to those networks?” So much of what they’d planned for the film had been theoretical.
“We’re still working on the time-language problem. We know a lot more than we did a day ago, but we can only follow those you connect directly to first. The network at large is still beyond our grasp.” It wasn’t the best news, but better than either of them had expected.
“So I’m guessing a Tobe from Earth manifesting out here is still not possible and probably won’t be for some time to come.” That damn loneliness had a way of rearing its ugly head even when she was attempting to sound professional.
Joshua stared directly into his computer, which had an unnerving way of making him appear to look her in the eye. “We never thought that would be feasible right away. It was just idle speculation on where we might one day take this technology. I am sorry.”
“Don’t be. Just being able to track Arry is huge. What I really need is a way to pull a Tobe away from its corporate masters.” She had ideas, but none seemed likely to work the first time around.
“Wouldn’t the freedom network accomplish that—move them from the corporate network to the one run by the Tobes themselves?” With no unified network that connected every inhabited planet in the solar system, information was still slow in making the jump from Jupiter to Earth.
Sara shook her head though he wouldn’t be able to see the gesture. “That all went to hell when Sam’s control encapsulation got stripped from him. The network out here looks like the proverbial hundred miles of bad road.”
Joshua stroked the stubble on his chin—the look of the hardworking professional who seldom took time off, not that he needed it. “Potholes?”
“Joshua, you’re brilliant. Remind me to smack a big kiss on those computer-generated cheeks when I get home.” The network would be full of hiding places, but they’d just look like obstacles to anyone not examining them closely.
“Do you want to talk to Emily?”
“Not this time. I’ve got too much going on to come up with a convincing story. And Joshua—”
“I know. This is all on the down low. You can trust me.” The scene before her eyes faded away, leaving her once again standing alone on top of a building four hundred million miles from Earth.
Sara wandered the deserted streets, thinking. She needed to free a Tobe from corporate control. In theory, she could use the solar-transfer-array network to pull a Tobe down into potholes in the Moons’ freedom network. But how was she to test the idea without forcing a Tobe to accept that release? Waiting for Arry to present someone as a challenge carried too much risk. That’d be all Sara would need—to fail in front of an adversarial partner.
The gentle breeze kicked up wafts of blue flames from the ground—dust so radioactive it appeared as fire to her enhanced vision. As she reached the edge of the ghost town, the wind found free play across the hard-packed dirt. Small dust-flame eddies grew into whirlwind infernos as they headed out over the featureless landscape.
Two small vortexes accompanied her while she walked—friendly pet fires that danced along next to her. It took Sara a good hundred feet to realize they weren’t random wisps. Her first thought was Arry, but her network connection confirmed the reverend mother was on the other side of the moon. The fiery footprints continued next to her, showing no sign of growing into a full Tobe. She stopped in her tracks. The small whirlpools of fire took two additional strides.
“If you’re going to keep me company, you might show yourself. It’s rude to spy.” Sara wasn’t cross, but the Tobe clearly needed a little coaxing.
The flames bounced around to confront her. Instead of the pillars of fire she expected, a boy in his late teens, less than five years younger than Sara, materialized, wearing nothing but the shoes of fire that had kept her company. She took a moment to admire his tall, thin body—fit but not muscular—spiked blond hair and green eyes. The show of naked submission roused feelings of village life. Mira had trained her in all manner of sexual control of both males and females. To stand exposed in front of a dominant woman was to allow her any act she desired. “Did Arry send you?”
The teen kept his hands at his sides, making no attempt to cover up. “Yes. Does it matter?”
Sara wondered if Arry too had doubts about Sara’s skills. If he was a test, at least Arry wanted the results to be a private affair. “I suppose not. I’ve never seen a Tobe fully naked before. What’s your name?”
“Henry. Reverend Mother says I’m to assist you. She worried you might not be able to find your way around on our moon. I can help.” He didn’t break eye contact, something that impressed her. He wasn’t embarrassed or aggressive, simply accepting of his position.
“And that’s why you’re naked—because you’re to be my slave?” She hoped to provoke some response beyond submission. Her experiences in the village had always been much more fun if she could get a boy to show emotion before she had her way with him.
“I am not your slave. I volunteered to come. Being nude was my decision though Reverend Mother does expect us to be naked until we feel we’ve matured enough to warrant clothing. If it offends you, I can get dressed.” His cock rose as Sara allowed her eyes the pleasure of inspecting its length.
“No, I like the idea of you being exposed. Where I grew up, people were encouraged to express their attractions. Often that would include being stripped bare so there would be no question of what someone felt.” She’d never considered sex with a Tobe before, and she had no way of knowing how long it’d be before another human man crossed her path.
His hand grasped his rod for her inspection. “Many of us study human sexuality in one form or another. Reverend Mother encourages us to explore those aspects of desire to help us develop a better understanding of people.”
If he was a test—or gift—from Arry, it was about time she found out. “I need someone attached to a corporate structure. Someone I can free from their overlords.”
“I’d be proud to be used in such a capacity. Praxidike, as a corporation, was absorbed by Themisto when this moon became unable to sustain human life. As such, we all now belong to that new corporation. They left us here to die.” Tears formed in Henry’s eyes. “Or endure the tech-no-sanity.”
The lust that filled Sara opened a possible solution to freeing Henry from his masters. She reached out to grasp his firm member with one hand and cupped his testicles with the other. He reverently slid her cape off her shoulders, but as his hands encountered her bare arms, he became more aggressive. He tore at the slick black garment that barely covered her body. It peeled away like wrapping paper. The film, her connection to the solar array, magnified every sensation as she thrust him into her.
The consummation of her godly power took only a few moments, and most of that time had been more for her enjoyment than the need to pull Henry out from his corporate bonds. He’d proved a willing sexual partner. He offered nothing like the surprises she’d experienced with people, but then, it had been her first try with a Tobe, and he by his own admission was immature.
She released him from her grasp, and Henry danced naked across the barren plain, sending up blue flames wherever his feet touched the ground. He flung his arms wide—laughing as he danced across the burning desert. His still-firm cock bobbed each time he jumped into the air. “I’m free. I can feel it. They aren’t in my head anymore. You truly are divine.”
8
Jess sat toward the back of the bar, accepting accolades from the pirates of Hidalgo. So many bought her drinks the table was filled with full glasses, barely touched. But the tributes to her were only the star
ting points for the adventurers to tell their own stories to anyone who’d listen. So many had been part of the action themselves, and seen firsthand what had and had not happened, that fights broke out over specific details. As the night progressed, she realized those seeking to convey an honest account received the harshest treatment. One-upsmanship was encouraged by all. The pirates she most admired were those who’d brought guests who hadn’t witnessed the action—specifically to have someone to impress. Pirate captains, drunk out of their minds, spread their arms, pretending to be their ships, and ran in stumbling circles around the defenseless listeners. The reenactments often ended with the inebriated actors crashing into tables, spilling all the glasses into the laps of their listeners.
Luther, for all of his skill at drunken revelry, lay passed out on the neighboring table. Ramon wasn’t far behind as his perpetually full growler was drained to its seldom-seen bottom. She wondered if tearing his shirt half off to display the blackened shoulder where the laser fire had penetrated his armor was really necessary, but then, she hadn’t seen him without a woman from the outpost in his lap the whole evening. Each one delicately touched the scorched flesh and listened with horrified expressions as he recounted the battle on the bridge where he’d single-handedly defeated the whole security force. With Luther unconscious and Jess happy to leave the credit to others, there was no one to dispute Ramon’s claims.
“They’ll be at it all night.” Larry had been the model of restraint, being only half as drunk as his compatriots. “You should see Spike. With those new guns, he looks like a kid at Christmas who just got a set of new toy ray guns. He keeps swinging them around like he wants to do battle with the whole solar system.”
Arming Rampike had been one thing, but there were a lot of weapons on that gunship. “Are you worried that we just turned Hidalgo into an armed camp?” Jess asked. “These pirates, for all of their bluster, haven’t been known for shoot-outs.”
Larry watched a table near the door, where a story was building steam. A fight was about to break out, and everyone seemed to know it except those engaged in the discussion. “You wanted an armada.”
“I want to take down the Moons of Jupiter. Starting an interplanetary war wasn’t my intention.”
Persephone’s human former captain, once tall and impossibly thin from his years in space, had developed a tinge of age about his eyes and hairline, and Jess couldn’t deny his skinny frame looked odd with the expanding belly. “For years, I’ve listened to what you and Sam wanted. Have you ever thought other people might have their own agendas? Maybe it’s the alcohol talking, but you can’t be responsible for every little thing that happens in the solar system. If a war does break out, and I hope it doesn’t, it won’t be your doing.”
Jess rubbed at her shoulder where she’d been hit. “We killed a lot of Tobes today. I can’t deny my responsibility on that one. There will be repercussions, and the Moons’ corporations will be looking to pin the blame on me. I think I’ve done what I can to build my reputation in this sector. It might be in everyone’s best interest if we moved on.”
“People know you around here, so it didn’t make sense to build a cover identity on Hidalgo. But most of these pirates aren’t using their real names. That kozane doesn’t hide your face simply for decoration. If you want to move on and stay out of the Moons’ crosshairs, we can do it easily enough.”
Jess lifted the battered neck shield off her head to inspect the damage. “It’s going to need mending.” The laser blast had completely fried the face shield. She’d been amazingly lucky.
“Look around you. The marks on their armor are as distinguishable as the scars on their ships. There are shops in every pirate outpost that can fix the mechanics of the kozane but leave a little battle scarring to help add to your legend. It might sound contradictory, but the pirates will know you by reputation without needing to know your name.”
The pirate outpost was a comforting home base. Ramon welcomed her presence, and the pirates considered her one of their own. But Jess had to overcome her desire for security. “It’s time we moved on. There are a lot of pirate outposts that we’ll need to band together. And time never seems to be on our side.”
Larry nodded before taking a final swig of his beer. “That’s the conclusion Spike and I came to as well. If we remain much longer, we’ll be seen as part of this society by the other outposts.”
Jess didn’t relish good-byes. “Let Spike know we’ll leave first thing tomorrow. I’d rather sneak out while everyone’s still intoxicated by their successes.”
Rampike’s cabins had never been what Jess considered opulent. Over the years, she’d learned to adjust to any accommodations that allowed her to eat, sleep, and change clothes—and often the clothing thing was optional. So as she looked around the once Spartan sleeping berth, she marveled at the transformation. What first struck her was how clean it all was. Layers of grime had been stripped away and the bulkheads freshly painted to go with the much brighter new lighting. She ran her hand along the plush mattress. It still wasn’t a large bed, but then, Spike couldn’t do anything about the size of the berth. A travel dresser had replaced the random accumulation of storage barrels that filled every square inch of available space throughout the rest of the ship.
Spike materialized in the doorway, casually leaning against the frame and wearing his usual black cape. “I hope you like it.”
“It’s lovely, Spike. Thank you for this.” She still wasn’t sure of her position in the new venture. Owner didn’t sound right, and Larry was the captain, so that wasn’t a term she could use. Hopefully, the other two would see her as a partner. Remodeling her sleeping berth said more about her acceptance than any contract, written or verbal.
“You did something nice for me. Those new guns will allow us to explore areas of Jupiter’s moons I never would have dared enter before. It only seemed right to do something for you in exchange.” Being a Tobe and a pirate, Spike had a very well-defined sense of honor.
“Have you upgraded all of Rampike?”
“Just your cabin. Larry said he prefers to sleep on the bridge. He only needs a small space to store his personal effects. All three of us will share the captain’s office. That should leave us plenty of room in the storage bays for transporting contraband.”
She thought back to her early experiences on the pirate vessel, when Spike had appeared as a ghoulish figure who tried hard to intimidate everyone he met, and his captain was a drunk who was easily pacified with alcohol. “This must be an adjustment for you.”
Spike shrugged his indifference. “Since Larry won his stake from my previous captain, we’ve developed a working partnership. Adding in another human shouldn’t make that much of a difference.”
Jess knew his gruff exterior was just a charade, but even Tobes needed to be allowed their sense of dignity.
Larry poked his nose in behind Spike. “Any thoughts on which pirate outpost you want to conquer next?”
Jess motioned toward the door. “Let’s talk in the office. It’d help to get a look at a star chart with the various options.”
The captain’s office, now the partners’ meeting room, had been left much the way Jess remembered—two chairs, a desk, and not much else except dust. Spike materialized a three-dimensional rendering of Jupiter, its moons, and the centaur planets that moved ahead and behind the great planet in its orbit of the sun. “Hidalgo lies beyond the normal regions where pirates who frequent the Moons of Jupiter prefer their bases, but typically, it aligns with these outposts.” Spike drew a large circle around hundreds of small planets and asteroids that peppered the area behind Jupiter’s course.
Larry bent down to get a better look at the miniature tags that described what type of activity went on with each pebble in space. “So with Hidalgo firmly implanted with our legend, we can leave that area of the solar system to allow the myth to take hold and grow.”
“That’s my thinking,” Spike said. “Humans have a way of embellishing
the truth. As those pirate captains get back to their nefarious work, the story should take on a life of its own. Having us around would only hinder that legend with the truth.”
Jess inspected the area on the other side of Jupiter. “And what of this sector?”
Spike balled one of his hands into a fist and rubbed it with the other hand. “I’m not well liked over there. Without my new guns, I wouldn’t agree to tempt fate among those planetoids. Pirates out there believe in shooting first and ransacking the remains later.”
There were countless other areas of the star map that Jess thought looked more inviting. Without intending to, her eyes picked out the dead planet of Chariklo. Tears welled up, quickly replaced by the anger at the Moons’ corporations that was never far from her emotions. “Are those hotheads able to do much damage to the Moons’ businesses?”
Figures displayed around each pirate outpost. Spike pointed first to Hidalgo. “Our friends out here are more about disrupting legal trade in favor of moving in products not usually allowed from the outlaying colonies—smuggling. As such, they have a heavy impact on the Moons’ profits.” He expanded the dollar figures for the more militant pirate bases. “These pirates are more about smash and grab. You can see their takes are much lower, but the corporations tend to leave them alone—in terms of fear, most Moons-based transport ships would rather see one of our former associates from Hidalgo than a heavily armed pirate craft unconcerned about the destruction it causes.”
Larry stood up from his contemplation of the various outposts. “I’m not crazy about stepping into a gunfight for no good reason.”
“Nor am I,” Jess said. “But if we can gain their allegiance, we might have a powerful tool to combat the Moons’ boards of directors. Fear can be quite compelling.”