Delta: #9 - Trixy
Kris Me
Delta Series:
#9 - Trixy
By: Kris Me
Introduction:
Trixy Walsh is a girl looking for a job and a man to love her. The starship Fortune has successfully returned to Earth. It is collecting people wishing to move to the new planet called Harmony.
In 2095, man had settled outside Sol for the first time. Was this the opportunity of her life, and would she find what she had been searching for?
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Copyright:
Copyright © 2016 Kris Me - All rights are reserved
This story is the work of Kris Me. You must contact me before you copy more than one page or ten percent of the content, as per the Copyright Act 1968, Australia.
First Published by Storiesonline World Literature Company: 10/06/2016. Last Updated: 13/06/2021.
The book cover was designed in Microsoft Paint 3D using art that is my own, copyright-free or covered by creative commons license for commercial use from https://pixabay.com/.
The original image of the faeries was by Gordon Johnson.
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Declaration:
~~ Adult Themes ~~
This book is part of an erotica science fiction series. It is NOT recommended for people under the legal age to access such stories, depending on the reader's country of origin.
The books may contain what some people consider vulgar language, references to religious icons, violence, coercion, murder, and-or rape scenes.
Some scenes may describe intimate heterosexual, bi-sexual, gay and-or group sexual activities. If you are homophobic, you may find some scenes in this series of book distasteful. In most cases, these scenes are integral parts of the story.
Some of the books include imaginary races capable of changing their gender and/or form into other animals. Copulation, while the characters are in their alternate animal forms, may be described.
This book DOES NOT contain descriptions of bestiality or coitus between persons closely related by blood.
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Editing:
If you find any of my assumptions fabricated, I would like to remind you this is a fictional story, and I have probably taken liberties with reality, as you know it. The humanoids in this story are not based on anyone I know or have read about.
Australian based dictionaries were used for reference, and Grammarly was used as part of the editing suite. The story was written in Microsoft Word.
If you find grammatical or spelling errors, they are not the fault of my editor or proofreaders who did try to fix my work. However, I do tend to fiddle around after the fact, so all errors are my own.
If my Australian colloquialisms or terms need clarification, or you just wish to correspond, I'm more than happy to answer your emails. You can send them to:
kris.me2@inorbit.com
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The Wiki:
https://keltria.fandom.com/wiki/
The Wiki contains information about the Keltrian people, wizards, magical items, colloquialisms and adapted words that have been created for this universe. Maps, character lists and other information that may relate to this book could be found.
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This is the Ninth book:
This story links to a previous series of books I wrote called Delta. Reading the other eight Delta books first should fill unintentional blanks. In many cases, previous characters are mentioned, and their progress is updated. It is also written in first person.
To follow an interlinking storyline, you may wish to read the first book of the Amity Series called Storm before this book. But it isn't essential.
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Additional Data on this book:
Queen Wizard Lee Watson was looking for women to fill a special order for the Giants that were moving from Rihia Island on Utopia to the new twin cities on Harmony that were ruled by two of her new wizards, Justin Ubobo and Alex Shaman.
Lee had been a tradesperson looking for adventure when she had headed to the Delta Pavonis system on the starship Fortune nearly two years before with her cousin Kyle and ninety-eight other crew members.
She was now a mother, married to two wonderful people she loved dearly and the Wizard Queen of two planets. She created a Charter and invited the people of Earth to come and settle on the planet Harmony as long as they left the Dragons alone and abide by the Charter.
Since Utopia was already populated by people from Earth's mythical past, Earth couldn't claim that planet and Lee had made it invite-only for Earthlings.
She only hoped the people of Earth didn't bring all of their bad habits with them when they came to settle on Harmony. They might not know what true wizards were capable of, but they were going to learn.
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Acknowledgements:
Special thanks to J. Konietzko and all of the readers who in the past have pointed out I do make mistakes and have helped me to fix them.
And thanks, Lazeez, for your patience and assistance in helping me with my weird requests and questions.
I hope you enjoy the story.
Kris Me
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List of books in series:
Delta: #1 - To Delta
Delta: #2 - In System
Delta: #3 - Utopia
Delta: #4 - Neighbours
Delta: #5 - Harmony
Delta: #6 - Twin Problems
Delta: #7 - Family
Delta: #8 - One People
Delta: #9 - Trixy
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Chapter 1
~~ Delta - Oct/02 - (Earth - April/2095) ~~
Hi, my name is Trixy Walsh.
My life changed the day my girlfriend Barbara Florez showed me the website for a job on the planet Harmony in the Delta Pavonis Star System.
The place had been in the news often in the last couple of months since the starship Fortune came back from its maiden voyage a year earlier than expected. They even had natives on board who were working as crew.
It was like, WOW!
I have a Masters in Biology, specialising in Herpetology and one in Palaeontology. I specialise in tracing the evolution of reptiles. I'm twenty-four, have recently graduated and am desperately looking for a job where I can use my credentials.
I had scored a part-time job at the Brisbane Zoo four years before, and it was a godsend as far as my studies went, but it's not long term.
My flatmate, Barb, is into birds and anything else that flies. She has been my best friend and roommate for the last two years. She has also completed a Masters in Biology specialising in Ornithology, and she is a year older than I am.
Oh, by the way, I'm tall, really tall at 198cm (6'5"). I tend to tower over many of my friends, and it is incredible how many guys don't like going around with chicks that look down on them literally as well as figuratively.
I have reddish-nutmeg coloured hair that is dead straight and goes all the way to my bum. It's a lot of hair, and I've thought of getting it cut, but I just haven't bothered. I'm also not willowy, as I weigh in at 110kg, but it's not fat, except for the boobs. Mum says for my size and shape, I have great tits, but she's got bigger.
My eyes are green/grey. Mum says they are my grandfather's eyes, and she calls them storm-eyes. If a bloke sees me from a distance, they think hot chick, until they walk over to meet me and realise just how tall I am. I'm even taller than most of the lads who play in our local basketball league.
The laugh is that I hate basketball. Cricket is my game. Not to skite, but I was bloody good at it too. I even played for the State of Queensland for two years until I did my shoulder. It was the first time the Queensland Fire's had an unbeaten record for many years. I miss playing cricket.
Barb, my friend, is more petite compared to me. She rocks in at 182cm, just missing the six-foot mark. Like me, she, too, has trouble finding suitable boyfriends. The fact that chicks outnumber the blokes these days doesn't help us much either.
Barb has hair the colour of light honey and long, loopy curls that trail halfway down her back. She has boobs nearly big as mine but isn't as wide in the hips or as muscular. She could be considered willowy with her slim build and tiny waist except for the tits.
Her eyes are brown with gold flecks that blaze when she is really pissed off. Her skin colour, like mine, would be considered a milky shade of coffee. Somewhere in our heritages, we have Aboriginal or First Nation ancestors, as some of them call themselves.
We don't consider ourselves Aboriginal, as we didn't grow up in that culture. Nor do we consider ourselves Scottish, Irish, English or Welsh, which both of us have in our DNA somewhere as well. We call ourselves 'Liquorice Allsorts'. Actually, we just call ourselves Australians, as that was where we were born.
I wouldn't call either of us drop-dead gorgeous, but I think we hold our own in the pretty enough to ogle at category, especially if we wear a bikini. Personally, I think Barb leaves me for dead.
She is the outgoing one, and I'm the quiet one.
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When Barb found the website, we both decided to apply.
We had nothing to lose. So far, the forty-odd applications we had sent out had 'Thanks, but no thanks' replies if the recipients bothered to answer at all. Considering I had passed my degrees with high honours and completed my Masters for both, I didn't think I'd have much trouble getting a job.
But a lot of the grant money for our fields of expertise has dried up because it has been directed at space travel for the last twenty to thirty years. There has been a decided push to get some of the population to move off the planet.
Unless you get in with UNSEC (United Nation Space Exploration Collaboration), or hopefully you get picked as a scientist for the new colony on Harmony for the Anzac Block, there wasn't much going for us.
We were still on their consideration lists. Unfortunately, this didn't pay the bills. We both had a mountain of debt, and the job ad said they would pay off our study debts if we signed up for a minimum two-year contract. We would be debt-free.
Money aside, just the thought of studying and living on another planet had us both excited.
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We both received emails saying we had reached the shortlist and they had liked our vids.
However, the Starship Fortune came back, and we didn't get on it. We heard that the group picked would be going to a new settlement on Utopia. They were mostly looking for teachers and trade specialists. Barb and I weren't ready to teach yet; we wanted to explore our disciplines first. We were green but keen.
We had read that the Fortune had ended up in orbit around the planet Utopia after a ship malfunction. The crew couldn't claim it for Earth because it was occupied by people from our myths and legends. We'd have called them fray, pixies, dwarfs and faeries, to name a few, but that's not what they call themselves.
The people of Earth had been invited by the wizards that owned Harmony, Utopia's sister planet, to settle on the unoccupied continents on its northern hemisphere. The two worlds were in the same orbit around Delta Pavonis's sun, one hundred and eighty degrees from each other.
We were beginning to think we had been forgotten when the emails came. They said that if we wanted the jobs, we would be shipping out on the next flight, and we had four weeks to get our shit together.
I'm not sure who was more excited, Barb or me. We jumped around our tiny flat, hugging each other, screaming and crying like mad scientists who had just proven the Earth circles the sun.
The grouchy old shit next door bashed on the wall, telling us to, "Shut the fuck up."
We both gave him the bird through the wall, and both agreed we wouldn't miss the miserable old fart at all.
We both had to ring home and tell our families.
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We settled down and devoured the literature that we had been sent.
It said that we would initially be sent to the Armstrong Space Station that orbited the Moon. From there, we would catch our ride to Delta. The trip would take about two weeks or twelve Utopian or Harmony days.
We soon learnt that their day was about twenty-five Earth hours long. They had a six-day week, five weeks to a month and twelve months to their year. The month and days of the week were named the same as ours, but they didn't have Saturdays.
Their orbital year was about ten Earth days longer than an Earth year. Their calendar was about six months out of sync with ours, and it would seem to jump forward by a month every three years to the people on Earth.
The average working week was forty hours, and at least every sixth day was a mandatory day off if you didn't have a break sooner. Many of the people had adopted either a four-day week of ten hours of work with two days off, or they worked four shorter days and a half-day.
We wouldn't argue about the six weeks holidays a year either. We both decided that we could live with this and read on. They had a list of pay rates and an explanation of their monetary system. We soon worked out their dollar would buy about the same as fifty of ours on Earth.
This seemed a little extreme, but we understood when we read the prices for goods and services. They didn't have inflation, the values were pre-set, and that was that.
This information had created a lot of stimulating discussions on Earth by the money people. They couldn't work out how Utopia's economy could work without inflation.
We didn't really care as we worked out that we were going to be paid quite well.
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Chapter 2
~~ Delta - Oct/02 - (Earth - April/2095) ~~
"Oh my, look at them, Honeys, Trix," Barb said.
She was watching a vid of the current set-up of the domes and town area of the twin cities called Rubyvale and Opal City. This was our possible destination, according to the manifest.
"Are those lingers small, or are those guys' really over two metres tall?" I asked, looking at the spunky guys on screen as I did some mental calculations to work out their heights.
Barb peered at the screen, "Nope, they are standard lingers."
She giggled, "Those two hunks seem to have just as much trouble getting out of them as we do. Oh my, look at the tush on that one. He's wearing those skimpy shorts, and you can see the curve of his sexy butt cheeks when he bends over."
Don't worry, I was looking. He turned around and smiled at someone just off-screen, and we both watched him walk out of the shot and sighed.
"Oh, a girl has just got to love those shorts. I'll kill anyone who gets in the way of me getting on that ship if that's the eye candy I can look forward to," Barb said.
I wasn't displeased by the eye candy either; those guys were really tall. The spunk in the little blue shorts who got out of the linger had certainly gotten me wet. I hoped he had an unmarried brother or, even better, if he was the single one.
Barb's hand slipped up my leg and under my short nightie. I wasn't surprised that she found me wet. She giggled. "Sweetie, has all that tall, hunky male flesh turned you on?"
I spread my legs and let her fingers explore. We had been lovers off and on for the last year. When you can't find a guy to satisfy you, you take what you can get. Barb had some awesome tongue action, and we occasionally found pleasure in each other.
I wasn't in love with her, and I don't think she loved me in the forever sort of love either, but we both had fun scratching the others itch when the mood took us. Nor were we exclusive; well, Barb wasn't. I just couldn't find anyone else I was even remotely interested in.
I wasn't sure if she was just less picky or just needed to be fucked more often than I did. Her fingers probed deeper and started moving in me. She leant forward, pulled the strap of the thin nightie off my shoulder and licked my stiff nipple.
I reached for hers. I rubbed a nipple with my palm and then plucked it between my fingers as I gently squeezed the flesh. Barb groaned on my tit, pulled her wheelie chair closer and spread her legs for me. I found her as wet as I was and had little trouble working two fingers into her.
"I bet that guy has a big cock, going by the package in the front of those delicious shorts," I said to her.
She clamped her cunnie on my fingers and sucked my tit harder. She hummed out an 'uh-huh,' around my flesh, then sucked it harder as she flicked my nipple with her tongue.
She removed her face from my breast to reach up to find my lips coming down on hers. We locked lips and explored each other's mouths licking inside each other's mouths and letting our tongues duel. Our fingers became more insistent as we fucked each other with them and rubbed each other's clit with our thumbs.
Our other hands were happy to knead the firm round breasts and nipples they found. Barb slipped her butt further forward on the seat so I could penetrate her deeper, so I reciprocated. We were starting to really get off on the finger-fuck.
"God, Trix, you're good," she mumbled as she clamped down on my long fingers again.
I always seemed to get Barb off quicker than she did me. She was humping hard on my fingers. While I enjoyed her penetration of me, I one day hoped I'd actually get to experience the real thing. She often had to lick and suck on me to get me to come at all. Even then, I still felt something was missing.
She was starting to groan, and I fucked her harder until her soppy cunnie was shaking on my fingers and moaning. I was also sucking on her tit because I knew it got her off.
"Do you want me to lick you?" she said as I slowed the penetration to let her come down.
My eyes flicked at the screen and the still shot of the hunk and said, "Nah, I'm good, thanks, Barb."
I kissed her gently, extracted myself from her fingers and went to bed with that hunks face still swimming in my head. I got BOB out of the draw and finished off what she started using the hunk as inspiration.
I'd not say no, to the hunk sucking on me or fucking me.
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Two weeks later, we handed in our resignations at our jobs.
I'd miss the Zoo as I've loved working there, but there wasn't much hope of long-term employment as the economy had been tight for a while. They were talking about downsizing unless they got some animals from Utopia. Plus, it wasn't what I really wanted to do.
We called a friend who had been looking for an apartment and told her the place was hers. She could even have the ratty furniture and the busted-arse fridge that shakes itself like a dog every time the compressor kicked in.
I won't miss that bloody fridge or the friggin gas stove that only worked when it felt like it, or the air-conditioner that only gets cold in winter. Our flat sucked big time.
So much for the advancement of modern science that we on the poverty line still had white goods made in the 50s. 2100 wasn't far around the corner, but in many places, you'd not know it.
The epidemic in 2032 had the world in turmoil when a lot of CEOs died from the flu that took out a third of our over sixty male population and about one percent of the rest of the world's population. Women have a lot more power on Earth these days, but men are still reluctant to hand over the reins.
It's also hard to alter the culture in only a couple of generations. The fact that we are now in space has helped us, ladies, a lot, as women seem to handle the capriciousness of space travel a lot better. Apparently, we also don't go as stir-crazy as the guys do when we're put in environmental domes on rocks in the middle of nowhere.
The unscientific reason is that women will nest anywhere they felt safe, and we were used to making the best of what we have. The main Explorer crews still tend to be male-dominated, but once a base is set up, they always end up with a higher population of women.
The crews the Aussies and Yanks sent to Harmony had a higher ratio of women to men. There was a rumour that the wizard who controlled Harmony was bringing men for them from Utopia. They had the opposite problem to us on Earth.
I had heard the European and Russian ships going to Harmony were also heavily slanted towards female crews. We wondered if we would have anything to do with the new colonies being set up on Harmony.
We were not a hundred percent sure, as we had been hired through Troikas Incorporated. So we were to travel on the starship Fortune, the vessel that went to Delta and returned.
Fortune was now owned by the wizards when they did a take-over of the company that had owned most of it, just after she came back the first time. We were still amazed that the Queen Wizard was from Australia, as was her husband, and they had originally been part of the crew on the Fortune.
We devoured whatever material we could find on the new planets and the wizards.
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We had to be on Armstrong, the Moon's space station, a week before take-off.
That was really cool. We'd never been in a space transporter before. We had to fly by plane to Cairns and then by bus to the Spaceport. The new Greyhound Airbuses, as they called them, were a lot nicer than the planes mum said they had when she was a kid.
We were then given a thin, form-fitting flight suit and told to strip completely and go to the loo. There were no toilets on the hour and a half flight. It was either that or a catheter. If we lost our bladders, the suit would absorb most of it. I decided that I could last without the catheter.
When we got seated, the attendant said that a helmet would drop down out of the compartment over our head if we lost compression in the cabin. We just have to pull it down and push it onto the top of our suit. It was supposed to stick and seal onto the suit.
We were told not to remove the gloves and to put our hair up or tuck it in our uniform, so the helmet would stick. We all looked up and wondered if there really was a helmet behind the cover above us.
The consensus was that if the worst happened, buggar the helmet, just bend over and kiss your arse goodbye. It wasn't like we would be rescued in a hurry.
The women with little kids were put into a special area with its own secondary compression compartment that gave them a bit longer to get the helmets on the kids. They did have an excellent safety record. They did provide enough gravity to hopefully didn't lose your lunch, and barf bags were provided.
We were told to keep personal carry-on possessions in a bag no bigger than a laptop bag and a handbag. They did have to fit the dimensions of the area provided. This caused a lot of bitching. Separating some women from their favourite handbag was like taking a bone from a starved dog.
We did have a 3m cubed container in storage that we could fill with whatever, as long as it wasn't on the banned list, but we couldn't access it on the trip. We were allowed one large suitcase for personal clothes and possessions that would go to our room on the ship.
We were told that all our other basic needs such as food, towels, linens and toiletries were provided for on the space station and on the ship. We could shop at the station gift shops, but we also had excess luggage restrictions on what we could acquire here too.
We were transferred to a special section of the space station that was reserved for us. We weren't allowed to access the rest of the space station until after our medical.
The medical was really weird. We were given a minder that had a massive form to fill out. Then we were handed a hospital-type paper gown and told to strip off all clothing and removable jewellery.
We were then given a shot in one arm and a birth control tab in the other. If we had one, it was scanned and replaced if it was only good for less than six months. When our name was called, we went and stood in a small cubical and were scanned from head to toe.
Then they told us to redress and to go back to our room until the next lot of tests and the training they had planned for us on how to behave in space. We would be given free time to explore the space station in a day or two.
At least we did have a decent rec-room for socialising, and the beds were comfortable even if the twin share rooms were small. Barb and I had a lot of fun but were surprised that there were no guys in our group.
As the week progressed, we learnt that all one hundred and sixty adult passengers were female. The twenty kids were a mixed bag, and all under ten years of age.
Most of us were destined for Harmony and the Twin Cities, as we called them. They had added some extra berths to fit us all in. When we filled out the acceptance forms, there was a section on sleeping arrangements.
If we had a female friend that we were happy to share a double bed with, we would get a double room. If we were happy to share a double bed with a random female, we would get a double room.
If we insisted on a single bed, we could be sharing a room with one to three other women depending on the room allocations left. Barb and I happily picked option one and named each other.
While we had our own rooms in the flat, we often sleep in the same bed if we desired some company or the weather had gotten cold. The voyage was only for twelve days, so we had no problems sharing.
Some of the women bitched, but it was not a problem as far as we were concerned.
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Chapter 3
~~ Delta - Oct/02 - (Earth - April/2095) ~~
The only males on this trip were crew, and they were all married to females who worked on the ship.
We had been warned the crew was out of bounds. This pissed off a couple of women too, but Barb told them to grow up. There were heaps of hunky guys just waiting for us. Two weeks was nothing.
If they needed a fix, she told them to find a friend or bring their BOBs with them. There was even an Adult Shop on the space station where you could buy one. It was pretty extensive; I can tell you. Barb and I checked it out.
Barb and I had fun in the zero-gravity room and were soon bouncing off the walls, ceiling and floor. One of the girls barfed and soon spoilt our fun. Getting covered in regurgitated coffee and oatmeal wasn't pleasant, and we all had to go shower.
I pitied the poor sod that had to clean the room after the pukers. I wasn't happy to find oatmeal in my hair as it can be a bitch to wash in a sonic shower. I hoped like hell that the rumour was true and that the Fortune did have real water showers, unlike on the space station.
We were walked through the 'Abandon ship' drill. The tiny pods had six sleep beds encircling the round walls, and that was about it. You had to climb in the pod without gravity and strap yourself down.
Once the straps were in place, the cover slides over you and then seals you in. A gas is then pumped in. You go to sleep and hope like hell you get woken again sometime in the future.
If you are injured, and you can't do the straps up, hopefully, someone will help you, or at least they hit the override that closed the damn thing. I barely fit in mine and was glad I wasn't claustrophobic. Scary fucking things, those escape pods.
By the third time we did the drill, Barb and I had it down to a fine art. One of the girls, who was in our pod, gave me the shits after the third time she fucked it up. She really didn't like the loss of gravity.
The drill instructor said that we would have been blown up with the ship or sucking vacuum if we took that long in a real emergency. The fourth time we did the drill, I just grabbed her, slung her under my arm and rocketed down the hall with her screaming the whole way.
I pushed her in the bottom pod, strapped her in and pushed up into my pod. After that drill, we went from the slowest time to the fastest. Foxy, the girl I had grabbed, said that she hoped that I was nearby if we ever had to evacuate.
She giggled and asked if I could have pulled her friend Jill along too. Since neither of them was over 152cm tall nor were lucky if they were 45kg ringing wet, I said 'Yeah'.
I recommended they asked for a double room beside ours, and then if we had to embark suddenly, Barb and I'd be able to ensure they both got to the pod. The girls took this on board, and we four started hanging around together.
The last night at the space station was interesting.
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The Fortune had arrived at last.
We were allowed to board the ship and go get settled into our berths. We were leaving in the morning (station time). I had to laugh when we found Foxy and Jill entering the room beside ours when we got on the ship. They both grinned at us.
Most of us had been wearing our own clothes, but we had been told we could wear the ships suits or any of the clothes in the replicator if we wanted our clothes to last longer. I was seriously considering it because doing our own washing was a pain.
We agreed to go nightclubbing for our last night. I dressed in a simple black dress that dropped to my knees with a halter style top. I didn't bother with a bra, and we all agreed flats were the go if we were going to dance. I didn't own anything else anyway.
Barb wore a similar dress, but hers was red, and whereas mine only cut under my breasts, hers cut almost to the waist. She looks pretty hot when she's dressed up. Foxy and Jill were wearing equally enticing dancing dresses. They had adopted the micro-minis that were back in fashion.
There were many guys who worked on the space station, so the girls thought they might get lucky on their last night. I offered to become the dedicated sober person to ensure they didn't get taken advantage of and hopefully got home to the ship.
The girls said I was a party pooper, but I find I don't enjoy getting drunk at the best of times. It is also an expensive activity, as it takes a lot of alcohol to get me to lose my inhibitions.
I don't mind a drink, but after I've had a couple, I don't tend to want anymore. If I kept drinking, I also have a terrible habit of offending people, as I tend to not pull my punches if they tell me crap that's not true.
Some guys find this side of me a turn-off, and others get a laugh at least. Most women find that a few home truths are not pleasant to hear, and I do have a habit of upsetting them the most.
As you can guess, that's how I got into trouble. The girls kept topping up my drink. We'd been paid for the week on the space station and actually had some cash. A lot of it ended up staying on the space station after our night out.
Anyway, we found a table and settled in, and I got the first round. We had decided to drink the cheapest wine. It was a bad idea, but that was what we did. Barb was the instigator of emptying the bottom of the bottle into my glass when we got up to dance.
We were having fun and had been in the club for about two hours, and I honestly didn't think that I'd had so much to drink. Jill and Foxy didn't have much trouble finding guys, and they soon found one for Barb, making her happy.
We had pushed two tables together so the guys could sit with us. They were nice enough blokes and well aware that we were leaving in the morning. They were after the same thing that the girls were.
So, the couples skipped a lot of the 'Let's get to know each other' bullshit and got into the, 'Are you worth fucking?' stuff reasonably quickly. The boys had chipped together for a room, and the couples took turns disappearing.
At one stage, Jill, Barb, and their guys went together, and I was left with Foxy and her fuck-buddy Trevor. They were doing some heavy petting, and I decided to get the next bottle of wine. I'd been sitting down for a while, and when I got up, I knew that I was very tipsy.
I tried to think of how much I'd had actually had to drink and realised I didn't remember actually finishing a glass. I then surmised that the girls had kept topping it up. There had been about six bottles that I knew of brought by us before the boys also swapped to the cheap wine, and then I'd lost count.
We had been there about three hours at this time, and I knew I must have drunk at least three bottles by myself to be as drunk as I was. I was sloshing as well as sloshed, so I headed for the loos first.
I noticed a couple of girls from the ship in the powder room, but I ignored them as I was on a mission; I had to go. I sat and peed and peed. It was with a lot of relief that I finally finished and cleaned up.
As I was rearranging the undies, I heard one of the girls saying, "Did you see those little tarts heading off with the men from the moon crew? That blonde bitch had a go at me about doing without, and she is screwing every bloke she can before she leaves."
One of the other girls giggled, "The big cow hasn't found anyone to screw her. She'll probably have to pay them."
They all laughed.
The big cow exited the toilet cubical. I walked over to the sink and looked the girls up and down as I washed my hands. I recognised the trio as three of the biggest whingers. The bottle blonde was Pauline the puker; I knew her voice well.
None of them would meet my eyes.
I left and headed to the bar. I ordered two more bottles of their cheap plonk. I was fuming mad at the insensitive women. Someone rubbed my arse, and I turned to find a guy whose eyes were at my tit level. He licked his lips and finally thought to look up at my face.
"Any chance you want to fuck?" he said and dropped his eyes to my tits again.
"I'll fuck your face with my fist if you don't stop talking to my boobs," I growled at him. He wasn't that bad looking, but he was older and a lot shorter than what I went for.
He looked up at me in surprise, "The blonde told me you'd fuck anyone."
"Which blonde?" I asked with menace.
He looked over at the table with the trio sitting at it; they were giggling and looking at me. I noticed that none of the blokes was at their table and couldn't blame them. I grabbed his face and kissed him. I think I caught him by surprise, as he didn't even think to touch me.
I then whispered in his ear, "I'll pay you fifty if you go chat up the blonde. If you get to fuck her, I'll give you a fifty more for her knickers as proof."
He looked at the blonde. She had already given him fifty to fuck me. He looked back at me, "Another hundred, you say? What if she wants to know why I wasn't with you?"
I nodded and grinned, "Tell her, it's my time of the month."
He grinned and nodded back. I transferred the fifty to his account, handed him one of the bottles of plonk, and he wandered over to their table. I went back to mine and filled, Foxy's, Trevor's and my glasses.
Not long later, the others came back to join us again. The three couples all seemed happy enough with their trips to the room, so they were in good cheer. The boys had gotten more drinks, and they were soon telling us girls some raunchy stories and had us in stitches with laughter.
I'd forgotten about the bloke, and when he came back to me an hour later, I was surprised.
"You owe me another fifty," he said with a big grin.
I looked at him, wondering what he was on about when I remembered his mission. "Do you have the proof?" I asked.
He put his hand in his pocket and pulled out a pair of pink knickers with a still wet crotch. I was laughing as I transferred the money to his account. I then poked the knickers into the top of one of the empty bottles. I told the rest of the table that they had to pay for the drinks, as I was now broke.
I offered my new friend a drink, and he sat with us. They all looked at the knickers, and Barb had to ask who they belonged to, and what was that all about? I told them and had them laughing in no time.
A hand reached past me to grab the knickers, and I grabbed the hand. "Give them back to me," the woman snarled, twisting in my grip.
"No way, that pair of knickers cost me a hundred bucks," I told her as I released her hand.
She tried to grab them again, but Barb beat her to them. Pauline headed around her side of the table, and Barb balled them up and threw them over to Foxy. When Pauline moved over to her, Foxy threw them to one of the boys on my side.
He sniffed the crotch, and this cracked us up as he scrunched up his nose and said, "Damn, that fish is off."
This really upset Pauline, and she screamed obscenities at us. One of the bouncers came over and asked what the fuss was about.
Pauline said, "That bitch took my knickers and won't give them back."
This cracked us up all over again. I took the knickers off the guy beside me and put them in my purse. "Sweetie, I paid a lot for them knickers. They are mine now."
The bouncer looked at Pauline, "I hope you are aware that prostitution is illegal on this Station?"
"What?" she screamed at him.
He'd had enough. He grabbed her arm and carted her off, screaming and kicking. I went to get up to stop him, but my new friend stopped me.
"If you say anything, they will lock you up too," he said.
The bar called last drinks, and we decided we had enough and thanked the guys for their company and headed back to the ship. I was still feeling bad about Pauline getting into trouble. Once we were on board the ship, I dropped the knickers in a recycling chute.
The next morning the Captain came to talk to me about what had happened in the nightclub. I confessed to setting Pauline up after she had tried to set me up. He nodded and asked me to use a little more decorum in the future.
He told me that my friends had told him what had happened, and it matched my story. He suggested I stay away from Pauline, as she was pretty pissed. I agreed it was a good idea.
It wasn't an auspicious start to the voyage.
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Chapter 4
~~ Delta - Oct/02 - (Earth - April/2095) ~~
After that night, you'd often find us, four girls, together.
For short chicks, Foxy and Jill were a lot of fun, and the voyage seemed over before it started, with them for company. Foxy was a serious poker player, and we did tend to play a lot of cards and board games up in the dome rec-room.
The ship, well, it was just bloody fantastic. It was the original explorer ship that Earth sent to the Delta Pavonis system. It was huge and had been initially designed to carry one hundred people and enough animals and plants to keep them alive indefinitely.
They had reduced the cargo areas for animals and the domed horticultural areas. They had then added a heap of extra rooms, a new dining room and other amenities to keep the passengers entertained for two weeks. The ship still hauled a lot of cargo, but it was mostly trading goods going back and forth.
We were told that this ship had been modified by Lee Watson the Queen Wizard, and it had the smoothest warp jumps of any ship built by man.
We still weren't sure exactly what a wizard did. But the vids of Queen Lee visiting the U.S. President in the Oval office unannounced, and by her just appearing in it, was still being speculated about. Apparently, the Yanks had fucked up and pissed her off.
The Nations on Earth had to comply with a special charter to send people to Harmony. Lee had taken exception to the Army General they sent. One of the weird rumours going around was that she had taken one of the Secret Service Agents as a hostage to keep the President in line.
I found this hard to believe. The statue Lee had made of their weapons after they shot at her had become famous. Many people said the weapons were screaming in agony and found it creepy.
The Fortune had all the latest mod-cons, and the things you could get out of the replicator/recyclers were just bloody amazing. We had all heard of them, but for a select few, most of us average Joe Blogs had never seen, let alone used one.
We had been told to pack light and only bring what we wanted more as keepsakes than anything else, as most of our needs were provided for. We could get deodorants, toothpaste and clothes, to name but a few things from the replicators for free.
Barb and I had hoped like hell that it was true because we had been living on toast with Vegemite or peanut butter and two-minute noodles for the week before we went to the Moon.
Barb and I had spent our available cash after selling nearly everything that we owned on trade goods since we didn't wish to take furniture. It's incredible how much you can fit into a 3m cubic space when it's boxed up.
The food on the ship, well, it was just excellent. I'm sure I put on five kilos over those two weeks. We also adopted jumpsuits or gym clothes as our daywear. It was great because we didn't need to wash clothes, and they even came in my size.
I just had to stand in front of the scanner, and it took my measurements. It then spat out a suit that fit me well. I could even pick from a range of styles and colours. It even recommended a bra and knickers to fit. So, I took them and found I was wearing the best-fitted bra's I'd ever owned.
Barb had a lot of fun getting me out of the suit the first night aboard. She said, watching me walking around it was just plain sexy as hell, and she was soon devouring my cunnie.
The Lady was pretty good as far as I was concerned, even though I had no other experience to compare her to. She pushed enough of my buttons to get me off, so I was feeling very sated by the time she finished. I returned the favour and sucked her out really good.
I had her thrashing around and begging me to stop after the third time she came. So, I knew her needs were taken care of. We both slept like babies in the huge bed we found in our cabin. The crew sure didn't get any bitching from us, or our neighbours and now best bud's, Jill and Foxy.
It was a bit weird not having a lot of guys on board, and I think by the end of the first week, just seeing one of them had many of the girls horny. The guys on the crew tried as much as possible to keep their distance.
The hunky Captain Esky could have had his pick of beds, as there wasn't one of us that would have kicked him out. There were plenty of women on board who envied his wife.
The guys, however, were always pleasant when approached, but as far as the rumours went, the boys stuck to their wives. Many of the women envied the chick from Hydroponics Mary, who had two husbands. A few thought the guys might stray, but I know they never did.
I overheard a conversation between them one night when I was roaming the ship. They had just come off shift and were talking about all the pussy on board. Both guys had smiled at each other, and one had expressed the hope that Mary had the bed warm. The one called Barry had kissed his husband, whom he had called Nads and agreed.
It was evident to me they were both in love with Mary and each other. I was more envious of the love the three shared than the fact Mary was getting two cocks, while the rest of us were not getting any.
The face of the hunky giant came to mind. I soon found that I wished like hell that he wasn't married. I had developed the hots for him something fierce. Most of the blokes I had met to date that had shown any interest in me, hadn't turned me on in the least.
I had been tempted just to find out what sex with a bloke was like but couldn't find myself giving in, even if drunk.
------
About a week into the voyage, Barb approached me.
She asked if I'd be terribly upset if she and Foxy changed rooms as she and Jill wanted to explore their relationship a bit further. I was surprised, I can tell you, as I hadn't even realised the two girls liked each other that much.
I asked Foxy if she was cool with the idea. I promised her that she would be safe with me, as I didn't require my itch to be scratched. She looked at me with speculation and agreed.
I got the impression she wasn't really into the gay girl scene. She had only agreed to share the room with Jill because, to be honest, they were the best rooms, even if you did share a bed.
I woke the next morning, curled around Foxy and apologised. She giggled and said, at least I didn't hog the bed, and she felt my warmth was comforting, so neither had any hard feelings about my hand being on her tit when we woke. She did have nice tits too.
Jill and Barb had apparently enjoyed their night together, and Foxy became my new bed pal for the rest of the trip. She was actually two years older than I was, but she just became my little sister, and that is how we treated each other and even thought of each other.
Pauline and her crowd noticed the switch, and I heard a few nasty comments about the dykes, but let it ride. I didn't pass it on to Barb, as I knew she would bar up. It wasn't worth the effort. We just tried to stay away from Pauline's little crowd.
The best thing as far as I was concerned about the switch was that Foxy wasn't a messy person like Barb. She didn't spend an hour putting on makeup and then leaving her crap all over the bathroom and the bedroom. That was now Jill's problem.
We four still hung around together as best friends, and in some ways, I was relieved that Barb had moved on before we got to Harmony. I had been worried that she was getting too attached to me in the weeks leading up to the voyage.
I was planning on finding a certain hunky giant. Foxy had informed me that she had seen the vids of the race called Genteli and felt that one of them held the key to her heart.
We had been informed there was a link to an online dating site, and we were welcome to look, but we couldn't message the guys or gals until we got into orbit. I looked, but my hunk wasn't on the site. I was disappointed, but I hadn't given up hope.
I did have fun with my girlfriends sussing out a couple of possible maybes, in case my dream guy was taken. There was a big, blonde hunk called Brandon, whom I said would do in a pinch, which cracked the other girls up.
Foxy found one guy who actually took her fancy, and even Jill and Barb had picked out a couple as well. It was interesting to watch them as they both discussed if they thought the bloke would want them both.
I felt that they were becoming pretty tight, and both liked the idea of a triad, which we had learned was very common on the worlds in the Delta system. They both wanted kids, and neither minded a bit of cock now and then as long as they could be together, too.
I was just happy that they were happy.
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Chapter 5
~~ Delta - Nov/02 - (Earth - May/2095) ~~
We had arrived.
One hundred and sixty very excited women and twenty kids disembarked the Fortune. We had docked up to one of the naval ships that patrolled Delta space. They were the guys that my younger brother Rick wanted to join, the Delta Space Police Force or DSPF.
We women ranged in age from eighteen to thirty-four years. We were all of different shapes, heights, races and religions. The two things we had in common were that we were female and single.
About fifteen of the women had kids under the age of ten, and all of us had skills of some degree. Even the twenty or so under-twenties had skills, even if it was because they were raised on farms.
These towns were being built to house new communities, and from what I'd read, farm skills were definitely a commodity that was required. The Giants, from what I had read, needed to be introduced to more modern farm methods.
They had been stuck in a more hunter-farmer society until Queen Lee had rescued them. They did have higher education but couldn't develop the technologies because of some spell that I didn't understand had stopped them.
I had read just about any information I could find on Harmony and the race called Giants that we would be living with. We were also told that many of the other races from Utopia would also be residing in the Twin Cities, and I found them all fascinating.
They even had dragons on Harmony, and these fascinated me no end since reptiles were my thing. I wanted to learn about their history of development. They were also considered sentient, and this really boggled my mind.
Some of the girls had skills in running small businesses and arts and crafts, and I could see their contribution as well. I didn't believe that everyone had to have a degree, just be good at something that contributed to the community.
After talking to a few of the girls, I could see why they were picked. Whoever was doing the selecting obviously had a bigger picture in mind than just helping some randy male Genteli and Giants find bedmates, as that was just the bonus from what I could deduce.
Barb and I were to boost their science team. We were to learn about the evolution of the species currently on the continent and to work out how we would help make sure they were around for our great-great-grandkids to see in the wild.
I was really looking forward to my new job. If I could score a guy who wanted me to, then that would be the icing on the cake. While our contracts were for two years, I got the impression that this was really a lifelong commitment if we wished to make it one.
I had learnt that most of us have very little holding us to the old world. I'd miss my mum, Dana, but she had a new husband, and she had decided that even though she could have come with me, she was happy with her lot.
Vince had even managed to knock her up before I left, so they were over the Moon. Mum was only forty-two and more than happy to be a mum again.
My seventeen-year-old brother Rick said that he'd come and visit when he was old enough. Vince treated Mum and Rick really good, even though he wasn't Rick's biological father, and I knew Rick liked him in return.
Vince even emailed me and promised that he would love and look after our family. I knew that he loved them both, and that was what was important to me. He had recently gotten a new job and was working as a data analyst for the same company that had hired me. I thought that was rad.
He was one happy guy when I talked to them from the Moon. The new job and its pay meant mum didn't have to work, and his new hours meant that he could coach Rick's cricket team. Vince had once played State cricket, too.
In the six years that he had been with my mum, he had been a great help in getting me selected and taught me a lot about the game. I liked the guy. I actually found their happiness a little depressing at the time, but the fact they were happy for me getting the opportunity to chase my dream was also warming.
I guess that's all part of being a family and growing up.
------
We went to Rubyvale.
One hundred and twenty of us were ferried down to a Transport Station that was located on the Rubyvale side of the Jade Bridge. Ten of the women had kids, and we were told that there were schools for them.
The rest of the women were going to an island called Rahia Island. It was on Utopia and the home of the Giants. Oops, sorry, the Grandteli, as they called themselves.
Most of the girls who were going to Rahia Island had teaching, industrial and or trade experience. They were going to help set up new industries on the island and a Trade School.
Utopia was Harmony's twin, and there was a lot of speculation on how Harmony got into this orbit, but that wasn't my field of interest. Utopia was where our explorers first landed, and it was occupied, so we couldn't colonise it.
Harmony, however, only had the dragons, and as Queen Lee owned half of this planet, she had said we could come from Earth as long as we abided by her charter. It had some pretty strict rules, and some of the countries were still arguing about coming here or not.
We had a running betting book that the girls going to the island would all be married before the year was out and pregnant once their tags stopped working. There was one bet going that the whole darn lot of us would be. There were even jokes about us all being mail-ordered brides, but we just hadn't picked our guy yet.
A comment, said to have been overheard by one of the girls had us all believing this, but I didn't hear any comments that any of them were opposed to this idea. While the job ad didn't say we were picked as possible brides, the implication was that we were welcome to become permanent residents once our contracts were up.
Half of us were to be housed in Opal City, and the other half stayed on the Rubyvale side of the river. When we got off the transporter, we were met at the Customs Station. We were told to remove metal objects and walk through a scanner. We had to do this all the time on Earth if using planes, so no one thought much about the procedure.
We got to the other side to see our welcoming committee. I took one look at the gorgeous redheaded woman and knew, without being told whom she was, our Queen Lee. I thought it was cool that a tradie chick from Queensland was the Queen Wizard of two planets.
My eyes then lighted on her spunky husband, Sean Watson, and their new wife, Donny. Sean was from Brisbane like me and had come to Delta as the Captain of the Army team. He was a Lord Wizard and a smart guy, as he had Engineering Degrees, like Lee. Donny was a teacher and a faerie shapeshifter and had only recently joined the pair.
My eyes then flicked to the guy I recognised as the Wizard for Opal City, Justin Ubobo. He was a real honey, and I didn't think I'd have any trouble spreading my legs for him. It was a shame he was taken by the woman who was as tall as I was, a giantess called Gemma, who was his Apprentice Wizard.
Justin was Wizard Allan Ubobo's oldest son. Allan was the Captain and navigator of the first ship from Earth that made it to Utopia. His ship, the GJ10, had been a tiny Explorer ship that had wrecked on Utopia four years before the Fortune set out.
Allan had then married Princess Darla of Antalia, which was one of their southern continents. He has since become an apprentice wizard, and he and Darla had married a bloke called Prince Zak de Kay.
Zak is the brother of King Aeron de Kay of Davinia, one of Utopia's northern continents. Aeron is also a wizard, and he married Yuko Maki. Yuko was a Biochemist and Food Engineer from Japan, and she was now a Shield mage like Zak. They also married Karri Watson, Sean Watson's sister. Karri is Aeron's Apprentice and is an Electrical Engineer like her brother.
After Allan had been shipwrecked, Justin was left on Earth to bring up his half brothers and sisters, the twins Jamie and Jennie, Brad, Tyson, Arial, Kim and the youngest Barbie. From what I had read and heard while on the ship, Justin had done a slap-up job of it.
I was informed that the people beside Justin were Alec Shaman, a healer and his wives, Kim and Nyoni. The girls were still in University. I already knew Kim was Justin's half-sister and Alec's apprentice wizard. Nyoni was from the shapeshifter or Therian race like Donny. Alec was Rubyvale's Wizard, and Justin was Opal City's.
I also recognised Kyle Vella and his husband, Tony. They were from Earth, and Kyle was Lee's second cousin from America and the Gold Wizard. Tony was from New Zealand and Kyle's apprentice wizard. They were married to Debora, a Geneticist from Earth and Piper, who was a computer programmer and Nyoni's older half-sister.
The sister's mother, Selin, was the Queen of the Therians and a Weather Mage. I found their race intriguing and decided that in the future, I would have to learn more about them as the concept of being able to change one's gender and form totally intrigued me. They sure made up an eclectic group of people.
I eyed off the guy called Alec, he had a similar body type and dark red hair colour as the hunk I was looking for. From a distance, he looked a lot like him, but I knew he wasn't my hunk. Mine was a little broader and taller, and I felt that he was older. So, I deduced that my hunk came from Rahia Island and was possibly even a relative.
The welcoming committee did their job, and the girls going to Opal City were hustled off onto an airship for the short trip to their new homes. The airship reminded me of a more modern and compact form of a Zeppelin.
I heard the locals call it the flying bus.
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Chapter 6
~~ Delta - Nov/02 - (Earth - May/2095) ~~
My group of sixty were staying in Rubyvale.
Barb and Jill decided to share an apartment and Foxy, and I got our own flats, to our delight. While we hadn't minded sharing a bed, we both liked having our own space, plus we were hoping to find a bit of male companionship for the other sides of our beds.
I wasn't happy that Pauline was in our group. I felt that I hadn't heard the last of her. She was assigned to Aquatics, so she wasn't on my team. I was thankful for this, at least.
Alec actually escorted my friends and me to our new berths and reminded us that the dining room would serve us three meals a day as part of our rent. Some of the items in the replicator were free, and the others we had to pay for.
They did have several shops already set up that would sell us staples and other grocery items if we wanted to cook for ourselves. They even had coffee and chocolate from Utopia. We could also purchase locally made clothing, furniture, housewares, electronics and other such items from the Mercantile.
Alex pointed out the location of the replicators and made sure we were recognised by the system. We had already been issued our new Mads. They were a combination of communication and datapad and also weatherproof. I thought they were amazingly versatile.
Our bank accounts were set up, and our money from home should be in them if we had asked for it to be transferred, along with our two weeks of pay that covered the flight here from Earth. The girls and I thought it was cool that we had gotten paid for sitting our arses while we flew through sixty light-years of space.
To enter our rooms, we just had to be wearing our Mads, so don't leave home without it. Our cargo would be dropped off in the next couple of days, and we would be notified when we could pick it up or leave it in storage. If we had items to sell, we were to go see the B&C Office, and they would help us out.
Alec also reminded us that a big party was being held in Clarksville in a week on Easter weekend. If we had taken a fancy to anyone on the dating website, it might be an idea to let them know and find out if they were going to be there.
My room was down the hall from the other girls, and Alec dropped me off last. I had to ask, "Hey, Alec, do you have an older brother or cousin by chance?"
He grinned at me and answered, "I, in fact, have five male cousins, and three of them are living here now. One that is younger than me is still on Rahia Island."
"My oldest cousin, Nathan, has moved to live in Benson, the new settlement in Aurora. He is engaged to the leader of the Science team, Professor Roslyn Gilberto. You should also make sure you contact her and the other Science Team leaders at some stage. I'll make sure you have their contacts details."
"I'll do that, and thanks. Did one of your cousins happen to be in one of the vids that were sent for us to watch?" I asked.
A thoughtful look came over his face, "Sorry, I'm not sure what vids you ladies had to watch. But if it was one of my cousins from here that you saw, you will most likely end up bumping into him around here somewhere."
"There are just over five hundred of us in residence at present, plus you sixty new arrivals. Did you get sent your updated assignment information?"
I told him I had it, and he gave me some quick directions and said the GPS on my Mad would direct me in the morning if I got lost. He hoped I enjoyed my stay here and left me to settle in.
I watched him walk away and couldn't help eyeing off the butt. He was a sizzling guy, even if not the one I had taken a fancy to.
I found my luggage in my little apartment and happily unpacked it. The room could do with a bit of a personal touch, but that was for another day to worry about.
The shower was hot, wet and very refreshing.
------
I dressed back in a jumpsuit and went for a walk.
I set my Mad, so it had my new address in it, so I could find my way home. I was looking at the general layout of the buildings, and the settlements set out. I headed out on a path to the bridge. I loved the slightly lighter gravity; it was about 0.98g's here.
I hit a three-way roundabout and worked out they had reclaimed about forty acres, taking about ten from each of the four centre squares of forty acres to create the central diamond that housed the main dome.
These four blocks were then surrounded by twelve more forty-acre blocks to form the sixteen squares grid pattern. A 1.5m wall surrounded the entire area. The two widest central roads led out of the diamond's points, with a smaller road paralleling each side to divide up the squares.
The road running east-west led to the bridge, and its partner on the other side of the diamond running east led to the uncharted territory. The other multi-lane wide road ran north and south, respectively, from the other points of the diamond.
They had left clumps of trees, and the paddocks were covered with a mixture of grasses, ferns and other small plants I didn't know. Some of the trees were familiar looking, and some weren't. I was truly on a different planet and was thrilled to be here.
I noticed that the sky had a more purple hue here. I'd read they had a higher Argon content in the air than Earth, and that helped give the difference in the colour of the sky. It helped give you the impression that you were on a different planet.
When I got to the bridge, I found they had landscaped the riverbank into a high smooth wall, and if I walked either north or south, I'd come to the parallel road that led to the accessways to the docks.
The bridge was bloody impressive. It was 750m long from shore to shore. I wondered how the hell they had built it and the two compounds in less than the two months the literature said they had been here. My research said that the bridge had a special shield that just covered the bridge, so it didn't interfere with local wildlife.
I heard a flapping sound and looked to the north to see a flying animal cruising down over the river. It flew in a leisurely manner under the bridge and continued south. With my eyes locked onto my first flying reptile, I followed it south at a slow jog.
My hand stayed in contact with the metre-high railing that stopped me from falling into the river that was 4m below me as I ogled the creature. As I watched, the beast suddenly banked around and headed back to my side of the river.
I lost sight of it as it headed back towards the small copse of trees just ahead of me. I heard a little voice yell out, "Quickly, under the trees, under the trees."
For some reason, I started to run. The copse probably only held about six large trees that were about 40m tall. A couple more trees were about half that height, and several large and small bushes dotted in and around the corpse.
The trees' strange branches covered an area of about half their height in width, and the branches were all in the top quarter, leaving the rest of the trunk relatively straight and smooth. The big, Lilly-pad looking leaves on the branches made a nice cool canopy above the area.
As I rounded the path near the end of the corpse, I heard a scream of fright and then sounds of thrashing and cusses of frustration. One of the outer bushes was shaking furiously, and some small creature seemed to be tangled in a vine that had grown over the bush.
I spied a seed pod on the ground about the size of a cricket ball and scooping it up with my left hand as I ran. I threw it sidearm. The flying reptile had its clawed feet out in front of its body, ready to snatch up its prey from out of the tangled vines.
The pod caught it in the chest and bowled it, head over wings and tail. It tumbled backwards to crash into the ground. I approached the creature tangled in the vine, and for my second astonishment of the day, I gaped at the larger than average Barbie doll with wings.
"Well, don't just stand there, you stupid troll. Help get me out of this bloody vine," the distinctive male voice said.
I mentally corrected myself. It wasn't Barbie; it was Ken with wings. He looked about the same age as me. Other than the fact that he was only about 39cm tall, he seemed to have all the body parts in the correct place for an anatomically correct human male. Except for the wings, pale green/grey skin and dark emerald hair, that is.
I decided for a faerie he was a handsome fellow except that he was scowling at me and obviously upset. I looked away and noticed the reptile was still prone on the grass. I decided the faerie was no longer in danger.
I walked over to the creature and bent down. Its chest wasn't moving, and it had the limpness only dead things could achieve. I was rather upset that I had killed the magnificent creature. I had no idea what it was.
The scientists had indicated Harmony gave the impression it was in the Triassic Period. Still, there were many anomalies, and this little guy seemed one of them. He appeared as if he was related to the pterosaurs of Earth, but he had a longer tail and neck.
He was physically bigger and had a small bony crest on his head. He also didn't have pycnofibres on him, his skin was distinctly reptilian, and the wings were large thin membranes like a bat. I undid the light windbreaker I had wrapped around my waist and gently rolled it into it.
I ignored the stringent male voice that yelled at me to help him get free until I had collected the creature. I had my first specimen to study. The 2m long creature with its wings tucked in and the long tail and neck wrapped into the body now looked much smaller.
I zipped up the breaker, tied the creature into it with the sleeves, and picked it up.
------------------------------------------------
Chapter 7
~~ Delta - Nov/02 - (Earth - May/2095) ~~
I headed back to the indignant faerie.
He now had two other male faeries trying to help him get free. Putting my bundle down, I shooed them off and, grabbing a vine, I snapped it in several places and then gently unwound the tendrils off him.
"Hi," I said conversationally as I freed him. "My name is Trixy, and I thought the flying creatures couldn't cross the shield?"
He grunted as a small tendril of the vine pulled tight on his chest as I pulled another free of him. He glared at his friends and said, "If some idiot pries the small gems free of the wall, then the creatures find the weak spots their removal creates, and they can get in."
"Gems on the wall?" I asked a question.
"Yes, Justin puts gems and de Ray crystals on the walls as part of his shields. Magical people like faeries can prise them out if they are determined enough," he told me with disgust and displeasure evident in his voice.
He also looked over to his friends, who both had typically guilty teenager looks on their faces. I was starting to wonder if the guy I was rescuing was as old as I first thought.
"Oh, come on, Bro, it was a dare," one of the younger men responded indignantly.
I finally got the faeries foot free of the last vine. He tried to lift off, but the wings that reminded me of a cicada's wings didn't seem to be working quite right. He sat back down on the big vine behind him and cussed using good old English to do so.
"Looks like you get a ride on the troll," I said, grinning at him.
He looked up at me and grimaced. "My apologies, my Lady. That was a thoughtless comment. I'm indebted to you until you release me from my debt," he said solemnly.
His younger brother looked contritely at him and said, "I'm sorry, Bale."
A look of determination comes over his face, and he looked at me. He then bowed in the air. "My Lady, if it pleases you, I should like to replace my brother and serve out his debt of honour, as it was my fault this happened."
I raised my eyebrows and looked at the three guys wondering what the hell they were on about. The oldest faerie seeing my confusion looked at me more closely.
"You're not of the Giants race, are you?" he asked.
"Well, I've been called one often enough back home, but I think you're talking about the Grandteli from Rahia Island, yes?"
"Yes," he replied.
I shook my head. "Nope, I arrived on the planet about two hours ago. I'm from Brisbane, in the state of Queensland, on the continent called Australia. It's found on the planet I know of called Earth," I replied.
The third young faerie gaped at me and then said in amazement, "You come from Justin's and Kim's home. Wow!"
I smiled, nodded and then looked at the older faerie again, "You wish to explain this debt thingy to me? As far as I'm concerned, you blokes don't owe me anything. I was happy to help."
The younger faerie brother spoke up first, "Bale, I have to do it. You wouldn't have got hurt if it weren't for me. I'll tell Justin too and take my punishment."
He then turned to me, "My Lady, please accept my debt of honour in place of my brother. I promise to serve you as best I can until you tell me my penance is over, no matter how long that takes."
I still wasn't much the wiser, but I did realise these guys took this debt of honour thing very seriously. I looked at the older faerie, and I could see he was leaving it up to me to decide their fate. I sighed, "Cool, you're it, mate. What's your name?"
"I'm called Kale, my Lady, and this is my friend Cullen, and my poor suffering brother, Bale," Kale answered with a big smile.
"Okay, Kale, what's involved with you serving your debt of honour? What do you have to do?"
Bale answered, "He lives with you and do whatever you demand of him until you release him. Most debts, such as this one when you saved a life, is often only cancelled when he returns the favour."
"What if he never saves my life?" I replied in dismay.
"Then he is your servant for life," Bale answered, looking at his brother.
"It is only fair, Bale. It was bloody stupid of me to remove the gems, I could have gotten many other faeries and people hurt with my stupidity," Kale answered solemnly.
I had to give it to the kid. He was taking this servant business and responsibility for his actions on the chin. I felt that he truly was sorry. The look of pride on his brother's face told me that I had little say in this, as I would devastate the kid if I refused.
"So, you have to move in with me and do as I ask until I release you. Is that the deal?" I asked for clarification.
They all nodded. "Well, how about I hoist your bro up on my shoulder, and we take him to get doctored up. I also need to know where I can take this bad boy in my windbreaker so I can put him on ice until I get to examine him."
They all looked at the bundle at my feet, remembering the reptile. I leant forward and put my hand out to Bale. He used my hand to help him hop up on my shoulder, and then he spun around and made himself comfortable. He probably only weighed a bit over a kilo, and I found that he was no bother at all.
I carefully knelt and picked up my bundle and got the boys to lead the way.
-------
I was amused to find the faeries had tiny Mads on their wrists.
Bale put in a call to Alec to meet us in the diner in the central dome. He informed me that Alec Shaman was a wizard who could heal, as his name implied. When we got there, Bale allowed Kale to explain what happened, and Alec listened carefully before making any judgements.
He said to me, "Did you accept his offer of servitude to repay his debt?"
"Yes, but only because they seemed very insistent. Was that, okay?" I asked.
Alec smiled at me and nodded. "Yes, in this situation, it was."
He turned to Kale, "As part of your penance, you must serve for a minimum of one year from this day. Only then can Trixy release you. If she believes you haven't met your obligations after that time, your release is at her discretion. I will inform Justin to check the perimeters. Agreed?"
Kale bowed and said contritely, "Yes, my Lord."
Alec nodded at him. He then touched Bale, who was still sitting on my shoulder, and I felt a warmth infuse my body. I guess he only meant to heal Bale, but his touch had somehow transferred to me.
I didn't know what it did to me, but I felt pretty darn good. I hadn't felt unwell since we got the immunisation shot. However, the tightness from my old shoulder injury from cricket seemed to have released. When I rolled my shoulder after Bale took off, I felt that I had my bowling arm back.
Kale asked permission to collect his belongings and for my room number so he could move in. Guessing I was getting a roommate, after all, I informed the computer system, whom we had been told to call Ade, to let Kale have access, and I sent him on his way.
Since I had acquired my first project, Alec took me to a lab that he said was to be mine. He and Ade helped me gain access, and we put my package in the cold store until tomorrow. He showed me around the state-of-the-art lab, opened another door and showed me in.
He told me the 4m long, by 3m high and wide machine that was in there was a scanner. He explained I could anaesthetise live specimens or put dead ones in, and it would scan them to the molecular level.
He walked me back to the lab and showed me where I could produce a 3D holograph of the specimen. I could then dissect it however I wished and could let the original go free if still alive.
"Fucking hell! We don't even have this technology on Earth," I exclaimed.
He grinned at me and explained, "It's an adaptation of the scanner Professor Ian Christian built and some technology from the therians, but it can only produce photon reproductions, not the real thing, like Ian's other scanner. Lee won't allow flesh of any animal or human to be reproduced."
"Well, to be honest, I'd rather not kill my specimens, so I love it and look forward to using it. So how many people do I share this lab with?" I asked, looking around at the large, spotless space. Half a dozen people could work in here comfortably.
Alex smiled at me, "There are currently ten staff members allocated to your department, and you are welcome to communicate with the labs on the northern continent to find out what they have learnt. For now, until you find more staff if you want them, it's yours."
"Oh, my goodness. What about my friend Barb?" I asked.
Alec looked at his Mad, "Well, the critter you have acquired is as close as to Earth birds as I know of them. So, if you like, she could work here with you to study them, or you can palm it off to her as her project, your choice. Lee has a particular interest in all of the reptiles here, which is why you were chosen."
"Where were you looking to put Barb, if not in here with me?" I had to ask.
He opened another door on the other side of my lab and showed me a similar set-up. "This is her Lab, but at present, you have the senior position as Head of Research."
"We even have a site my Cousin James found that we would really love for you to investigate when you're ready. He too is part of your current staff. He has found some interesting reptile fossils that I'm sure would interest you."
I rubbed my hands together and grinned almost maniacally at Alec. I was so excited to find I was going to be doing real work; it was intoxicating. I wanted to get started now.
Alec patted my shoulder and gave me a rueful grin as she showed me out of the labs.
"I think you may need a feed and to have a chat with your new servant first," he told me and directed me to the cafeteria.
'Shit,' I thought.
I'd forgotten about my servant.
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Chapter 8
~~ Delta - Nov/02 - (Earth - May/2095) ~~
"So, what the hell am I to do with a faerie servant?" I asked Alec as we headed back to the cafe.
He shrugged, "No bloody idea. We didn't have faeries on Rahia Island. I do know they take this debt of honour thing very seriously, so you will have to take it up with Kale or even talk to his older brother, Bale."
"Do you know why he didn't want Bale to be my servant?" I asked.
He nodded, "Yes, Bale is the consort to Queen Virginia, who moved here from Davinia. She recently gave birth to a daughter."
"How old is Bale?" I asked.
"Oh, he would be about thirty-five years in your timescale. Kale, your servant, is about twenty-five, I think," he said off-handily.
"What? He barely looks sixteen," I replied.
Alec grinned at me again. "Faeries, Gentelis, Pixs, Grandtelis and most Therians live about twice as long as humans, Prols and the Burgis races. Once they hit maturity of around twenty to twenty-five, they don't really show their age as you would think of it until very late in life."
"People who change to mages or rookies age about five to ten times as slow again of your years and wizards about twenty times as slow."