Forsaken 337 BC
Page 58
The bright light blinked out as their bodies dropped four inches onto a metal floor, still holding hands, nobody wanted to be the first to let go. Controlling his breathing Cain worked hard to clear his vision, opening his eyes to see Lesley peering at him through the slits of her eyelids.
Cain glanced around and he noticed they were still stood in a circle and still holding hands. As his eyes opened wider he looked more at the room which was dimly lit with grey metal walls. The wall across from him held what looked like their game PODs, fastened vertically side by side to the wall.
It wasn't long before everyone had their eyes open and they began to let go of each other and turned to look closer at their surroundings, their movement turned on recessed lighting, making the room fully visible. A beeping sound came from the only door in the room after five beeps the door slid sideways revealing a tall, muscular and well built and proportioned female with short military style hair. Toni noticed the woman as she stood waiting at the door threshold and welcomed her inside.
"Welcome, I’m the ship's administrator. You must be the specialist group we have been in orbit two days waiting for. Now that you have teleport in and are in our holding quarters, I can see you are all wearing the correct uniform and are in one piece and fit to go. We can leave Earth’s orbit and head to your destination, dropping you one day out.
"Once dropped you will fly your ship under sensor cover landing in the Amazonis quadrant on Mars. I hope you know what you are getting yourselves into, the corporations and military are cracking the whip on independent archaeological ventures, like yours.
"Someone has paid your party's fare in advance, so no worries about somebody pushing you out of an airlock, during the voyage. This is a well-run ship, not a gun or drug running spaceship and our spaceship uses the latest advancements in hyper-drive technology, making your trip a tiny thirty-two days resting in your PODs.
"We also use the latest sleeping PODs, and I'm sure you will enjoy their additions and enjoy the dreamless sleep as you can’t move around while the ship uses the hyper-drive. Now you are here we are scheduled to leave Earth’s orbit in ten hours. If you haven’t seen the two sky-hook stations, one above Madrid, the other on the opposite side of the world in Palmerston North, New Zealand from orbit before; I’d take the opportunity to see them as the sun sets.
"Once the spaceship reaches the target vector, a distance of three days from Mars, our hyper-drive units will turn off then we travel like everyone else, slowly on impulse engines. We will drop your vessel a modified MI, Martian Industries, assault drop-ship when we are a day out from Mars. Your landing coordinates are pre-programmed by our ships onboard AI. Any questions? No? Good, go stretch your legs, get some food and be in your PODs in nine hours and fifty-five minutes." Cain looked at each of his women his feelings for each filled him with hope and love, he locked eyes with Toni.
^C^ Toni, yes, most definitely yes.^
The End of Forsaken 337 BC
coming soon: Forsaken Mars 2378
Dear Reader, before you go and read the following book exerts, if you enjoyed this story about, Cain, Toni and the other women in his harem please leave a review on the Amazon page.
Your review is proof you enjoyed reading my work, and I can not thank you enough for reading to the end and hopefully taking the time to review it.
Your reviews help independent authors like me as we grow and develop our story telling craft. Reviews help us reach more readers, it also helps to know you the reader like this style of story and that I should continue writing it.
Here are two exerts for you to read. One is from the third book of the Forsaken series: Forsaken Mars 2378 - while the other is from a GameLit style story: The Takeover.
The Takeover is based a dozen years in the future and most countries have been taken over, not by a global corporation but by our old masters, Daemons from a different dimension. Join with the heroine as she works undercover in New York, where she finds the truth and exposes the world to the truth about the Daemons.
Forsaken 2378
1
Mars Zone Options
The woman who said she was the spaceship’s administrator, turned and left the cabin where Cain and his women still stood in a loose circle, Toni and Sophie were still holding hands. The door slid across the entrance, making a hissing sound as it sealed against the frame. Lesley was about to speak when Cain's message was read by Toni. She took one stride and wrapped Cain in a huge hug and kissed him passionately.
^T^Thank you so much. I know we will have to wait but asking felt right. I love you and I can't wait to have your children.^ The other DreamBabes watched as Toni let go of Cain, tears freely running down her face her smile lit the room. Clearing her throat Lesley said,
"I don’t know about anyone else, don’t you think the transition between game zones was easier this time? We are not on the top of a mountain, although we seem to be stuck here, sleeping for thirty plus days. Can any of you with big brains work out if the sleeping arrangements are the correct way for new players to join the 2378 zone? Also, I don't know why you are so happy Natasha but I'm pleased for you."
"We can ask, though all we would need is for somebody to watch another player who uses the correct portal gates and see how they entered the zone," Bethany said.
[Most players to the 2378 zone get to choose one of four entry points. If a player starts the game as a passenger on a spaceship cruise, they get to mingle with rich NPCs and players as they journey from Earth to Mars.
[They spend one hundred and twenty-six days on the cruise of a lifetime. The options on the cruise are being a famous detective, a rich person with a partner who is into kinky sex. Or a final option for the player of being the assassin, working their way through lots of rich people, NPCs and players alike.
[Another game zone entry point, is where a player can choose in starting on the space station, floating high above Mars, out beyond the orbit of Deimos, twenty thousand miles from Mars, half a day’s journey by a regular shuttle. The system varies the options on the space station, such as a rich person, body guard, station security, a thief, an assassin or a detective; the list goes on.
[Once a player goes down to Mars, they can choose a different playing path, though prior choices can influence their final options. The third choice for a player is joining a pirate space ship. The role of players choosing such a role is pirating, in space.
[They are crew, not the captains of the pirate vessels. The vessels run down spaceships, either cruise liners or cargo ships. The pirates, get chased by the military and Mars’ ruling corporations security forces. Their entry point depends upon which of the sixty-seven pirate ships crews they choose and the quests they each have.
[The final entry point is starting on Mars its self, in one of a multiple of roles. Nothing is ever easy, thanks to Vince. It seems we are starting this game zone as smugglers or rebels against the ruling corporations,] Rahab informed Toni.
Toni shared the information Rahab gave her. Lesley asked how long they would be asleep for. Enoch told Cain they would be asleep for three full days, which Cain passed on to the others. Naomi spoke to Bethany.
[Bethany, Rahab and Enoch asked me to monitor internet communications, regarding Sophie while Ruth is monitoring Lesley. I heard a police officer Oliver Shoesmith, talking to his wife on a personal coms device. He informed her to pack her bags and go to Paris to see the art galleries, well to tell their neighbour at number 37a that is where she is going.
[In Paris he told her to take a train from Gare de Lyon to Dijon. Leave the train and book a hotel there. On the following morning use her spare passport, travel to Zurich their visit their banker, Rothes Martyn Morell. He told his wife, Anzia Shoesmith he would join her once he’d covered for a rich businessman.
[I hacked the bank servers, found an account in the name of Ziana Cobbler. It holds over seventy-five million credits. Do you think I could link
this to Sophie?]
:I don’t know although I will tell Cain and Toni. They have a better handle on this type of thing, I hope it is so we can either get the cobbler on our side or wipe out their money,: Bethany said,
"We need to scout out the spaceship. It could be a tiny vessel, or something along the size of a Star Trek Enterprise spaceship," Daphne said.
They all agreed splitting into pairs, Cain and Toni were together, Sophie went with Bethany, while Lesley paired with Daphne. Leaving their assigned cabin, they exited the hissing door and separated to scout the spaceship.
{You could ask the administrator, I noticed she was checking you out while talking to you all. If you can find a terminal either Rahab or I could hack the system and see what specifications the ship has and how large the drop ship is,} Enoch said.
^T^Did Enoch tell you the administrator was checking you out?^ Cain laughed telling Toni he had enough females, going back to five sounded good to him.
"It would have been difficult doing anything if we’re sleeping for thirty days. I wonder where an observation deck is," Cain said as they all stood in the corridor outside their cabin.
The dull white coloured corridor, looked to have its own light source, lit from within as Cain could not see any light fittings, changed in front of him. An image of the administrator turned from what she was doing, as she turned speaking to Cain, Toni and the other women.
"It’s good to see you all chose to leave the cabin. How can the ship, I, help you? I am sorry for my rudeness earlier. My name is Circe Gadikian, how may I help?" Circe said. Toni kicked Cain before he said anything embarrassing.
"Nice to meet you Circe. Could you tell us how to find an observation deck? We would like to see the sky lifts. Also is there a terminal we could use to check news from home, before we leave orbit? My name is Natasha and my partner here is Joseph," Toni said. Toni watched as Circe processed their names. Toni noticed a twitch on Circe’s face, a twitch of excitement.
"Follow the blue arrows and they will take you to an observation deck, green arrows will take you to an information terminal, the administrator replied. She also said to ask the ship’s AI, Josephine and she would help you.
"I’m sorry, I have several jobs to prioritise and need to speak with the crew before we leave orbit. Don’t forget to return to your sleeping quarters before we leave. I’ll have Josephine keep an eye on you and she will guide you back to your cabin," Circe said.
The image of Circe disappeared, replaced by a blue arrow, which moved across the surface of the wall, underneath the blue arrow a green arrow moved across the wall’s surface in the opposite direction. As they walked, Toni and Cain spoke.
^C^ Bet you a session on your own, she is one of our great, great something or other children. Her last name is nearly a replica of Pyrgadikian where Circe ruled for Cybele and Athena. ^
^T^ No, do you honestly think that? Silly me of course she is, if you’d taken a close look, she has the looks of Circe, albeit taller. I wonder if she is an Amazon warrior, or a simple Greek, it would be nice to know. ^
Size matters
Cain, Toni, Sophie and Bethany followed the blue arrow, turning left down the corridor. Lesley and Daphne followed the green arrow turning right then left at the first junction. Cain looked at his HUD, there was nine hours and thirty-eight minutes before they needed to be in their cabin.
Toni lost count of the number of floors as the elevator whisked them higher in the spaceship; they had been moving upward, at least Toni thought it was upward for one minute and seventeen seconds. The numbers on the elevator display moved so fast, Toni could not count the floors as they sped by. Coming to a halt, they all stepped out of the elevator on the four hundred and eighty-second floor. They began their journey on the one hundred and sixty-sixth floor.
The blue arrow was on the facing wall and moved in two directions. Sophie and Bethany went to the right, leaving Cain and Toni to go left. They walked past hundreds of doors, each one numbered. Toni worked out the room number had reference to the floor and which side of the spaceship.
They passed room Alpha, four hundred and eighty-two, oblique three hundred and sixty-nine, on their right; before entering a large open space full of plants and full-grown trees. Toni looked up and could not see the ceiling, no matter how hard she tried.
Cain tugged on Toni’s hand, he asked her to come along and look out of the observation windows, the blue arrow had stopped moving. Shaking her head Toni told Cain she could not believe the size of the spaceship.
"What spaceship has a forest growing inside? I don’t remember any space series, program or film I’ve watched, ever having a forest inside. Not even the one where many aliens lived on the huge space station, Babylon Four or was it Five, I can’t remember," Toni said.
"There was the Amazomart series, ran for sixteen years. It was called The Expense, I think, though I stopped watching after season thirteen. They had a habitation colony called Orisis, I remember it housed hundreds of thousands, but they didn't have any large to the sky trees. You could see the ceiling when they were on the ground. Here though,where is the ceiling?" said Cain.
Walking past the huge trees in the indoor park, they reached the observation deck where the blue arrow led them. The arrow pointed to a door which they entered. Entering the observation deck, passing the sliding doors.
Cain and Toni, looked overhead through the clear walls of the observation deck, seeing a view of Earth, only a handful of people in 2035 had ever seen first-hand. Spinning above their heads was Earth, home. The blueness of the oceans was stunning, they both stood gazing at the sight holding each other's hand.
"Look the geostationary sky-hook station. I wasn’t expecting something so large. It must be ten miles in diameter, I can see small space ships drifting near the station. How far away do you think we are?" Toni said.
"The ARC 2 is two hundred and fifty-one miles from the Madrid sky-hook station. In forty minutes, you will see the Palmerston North sky-hook station spin past our location," Josephine said.
^D^ We found a terminal, Ruth has checked on the data it holds. The spaceship we are on is an experimental interplanetary explorer. It belongs to the Amazon resourcing company, based in Thessele, Greece, EC.
^I know you used to watch Star Trek and the like, Toni. Ruth tells me the Enterprise version D, had a length of six hundred and forty-two-and-a-half metres and a crew of over a thousand. Whereas the Space Eagle has a length of one and a half miles, crewed by four thousand females, from the Amazon company.
^They call the main AI Josephine, which we know, there are also two secondary AIs called Myreto and Nithey. This is a huge spaceship. We could easily get lost in here if we wanted to. ^
^C^ Thank you for the information Daphne, I’ll have to treat Toni to something special. I can’t think of anything which would snap her out of the geek mode she’ll be in, being on this spaceship. Did you find any news on the terminal about what is happening on Earth or Mars? ^
^D^ The only news I could find, while Ruth was searching deeper, is about the problems certain areas on Mars are having. There is a resistance against the large corporations, who are trying to restrict people’s rights, making them the news feeds say, slaves. ^
^T^ I think we all need to go find a dining room where we can refresh our bodies before going to sleep. ^
"Josephine, please can you direct us to a place where we call all eat," Toni asked. Josephine replied telling them to follow
the yellow with brown striped arrow.
Twenty-five minutes later they found a self-service dining room, Toni noticed there were around a hundred women sat eating at long tables. Cain wondered why none of the women sat alone, they seemed to sit in groups of twenty-five.
"OK, so how do we do this? I can’t see any catering staff. Who wants to go speak with the locals?" Daphne said. Cain watched as Sophie and Lesley went over to the nearest table with women. The locals as Daphne called them watched Sophie and Lesley approach.
Sophie was going to speak as she neared the table while the women were all watching her. She looked trying to pick out the one she thought would answer her question. As one, all the seated woman stood, before moving away from the tables, leaving their plates of food.
The local women joined as one group and walked toward Cain and Toni. Daphne and Bethany moved from being at the side of Cain to stand in front of him. The females came to a halt, the one nearest Bethany spoke.
"What are the missing words to this phrase," each woman with the speaker joined in the phrase. "We don’t care why people bitch…" Sophie shouted from the rear of the group of women.
We don't care what people say, the group said the refrain.
(We don't care what people say),
We're the DreamBabes every day,
(We're the DreamBabes every day),
Chew them up and spit them out,
(Chew them up and spit them out),
We're the DreamBabes here to stay.
(We're the DreamBabes here to stay).