Frozen Soul, and other works: Chapter 56

Elnaril Triswynn did not look like a young man. Oh sure, he didn’t have wrinkles, and his head was shaved so one couldn’t tell by the color of his hair, but he did not look like a young man. It was his eyes. They weren’t the eyes of a young man. Those were the eyes of a man who had seen more of the world than most would care to.

Looking up at me, he bowed his head slightly and as he did so, the credits transferred to our accounts. “Thank you, sir, for bringing my niece back to me. With her mother gone, I’m afraid she is the only family I have left.”

I nodded. “Of course. It was our pleasure to help. Unfortunately, by the time we got into the system, it was already too late for half the world, and the other half fell shortly after. If it is any consolation, know that your sister and her family are no longer trapped by the Legion. I don’t know if the news has spread, but Jagloth has been destroyed, the atmosphere burned off the face of the world. And the person behind the plague is trapped, enduring a never-ending hell.”

Elnaril’s eyes narrowed at that. “The Hypercom network has already informed us of Jagloth’s destruction, though the news hasn’t spread beyond those who are most connected to the various networks, but the news of the one behind the plague is new. Where did you hear this?”

I considered, and then said, “I believe that CNN reported that we Nomads have our own means of communicating across distances? That much I can confirm. The one behind the plague was a Nomad, who was under the delusion that he could rule the world or some such idiocy. He was in a bunker on Jagloth when the atmosphere was burned away. When he ran out of air, he died, and, as Nomads do, was restored, but on the surface. He’s been locked in a cycle of death since then, without end.”

Alais nodded fiercely at that. “Good! I hope he suffers a hundred deaths for every person he destroyed with his mad scheme!”

Elnaril considered, and then nodded slowly. “It is not the fate I would have given him, but I am not dissatisfied with his punishment.” He paused, and said, “If there is nothing else, I would like some time with my niece.”

I smiled. “Of course, sir. Before you go, I would give you this letter of introduction from Don Veta in Alpha Centauri.”

Elnaril’s eyes widened as he took the letter. “You know Don Veta? How did you come by a letter from him? And why did you not say so before?”

“First, because we took the job to deliver your niece without knowing your identity. I only came to suspect that the ‘Uncle Elnaril’ your niece talked about was the ‘Elnaril Triswynn’ Don Veta urged me to contact when we were already en route. I did not KNOW until you walked out that door.” I paused, and then continued, “And second, I did not want to overshadow your reunion with other business.”

“As for how I came to know the Don, let me just say that one of his former associates was thinking of changing allegiances. This associate decided that holding the Don’s daughter hostage was a good way to ensure his survival during the changes. We were sent to retrieve the daughter, and, based on what I saw in that associate’s place of business, I gave him over to the Don for a father’s judgement. And if the letter says no more about the particulars, then I shall not go into detail, out of respect for the Don and his daughter.”

Elnaril nodded. “Good, that is the way respectable criminals should operate. Too many of these kids only wish to make as much money as they can, and think that fear is the same as respect or that guns are the same as power. They do not know the reasons why many of the syndicates formed.”

I simply smiled, and nodded. “Please, sir, at least call us businessmen of questionable legality. ‘Criminal’ is so harsh.” That got a laugh from the knelfi man. “But now I will leave, and allow you and your niece time to talk. Please accept my card, and if you have any work that might need to be done, please do not hesitate to call on us.”

With that, we boarded the shuttle again, and made our way to one of the ‘proper’ landing pads in the capitol city of Thelorious. Shearah looked up at me as we landed, and said, “What are we doing here, Master? Don’t we have more deliveries to make?”

I gave her a quick kiss on the forehead, and said, “Of course we do. But we’ve been on the ship for a couple weeks, now, and I decided that an outing was in order. I had Raven do some research on the planetary datanet. Raven, show them the place we were talking about.”

“Sure thing, Captain.” Raven waved her hand, and everyone got a databurst containing the details of the restaurant we’d be eating at. For some reason, most knelfis were vegetarian, but this was the capitol of the Confederacy, and so there would be plenty of non-knelfi people here. The place I’d selected was the best steakhouse in Thelorious. Apparently, the local herd animal, the koofo, was roughly analogous to an earth cow, and was safe to eat. My mouth was already watering at the thought of a good steak. Sure, our food aboard the Raven wasn’t bad, and it certainly wasn’t emergency rations, but it just wasn’t the same as a good steak, cooked by someone who knew what they were about.

The Copper Bay was filled to capacity, but I’d had Raven book us reservations before we’d even left the ship. The looks we got when we walked into this upscale dining spot were priceless. I decided that Shearah would be sitting at my right, and Carissa at my left, and the rest of the girls just filled in the spaces where there was room. The waiter arrived shortly after we were shown to our table, and barely looked down his nose at us at all.

Dinner, as one might expect at such a place, was very tasty, with the steaks cooked to perfection, and the knelfi version of ale that was served with it really complemented the meat. It wasn’t long before the girls were laughing and swapping stories, mostly at my expense, but sometimes contributing little tidbits about their past before they came into my employ. That was how I’d learned that Shearah was actually born not far from here, but her parents had died before she became a mechanic.

I was happy to have a nice dinner out with my crew, both my pets and the free girls, since even though we saw eachother all the time on the ship, and ate most of our meals together, it was different when you got dressed up and went out on the town. Or, in Sana’s case, getting dressed at all and eating from something other than a bowl set next to the table. But I digress.

As we were finishing our meal, and were waiting for the deserts to be brought out, I stood up and raised my glass of ale to them. “Ladies, life aboard ship can be tough. Close quarters makes people irritable at times, since you’re always around eachother. But I can honestly say you girls are the best crew a Captain could hope for, and I’m glad to have each and every one of you by my side. Here’s to you.” My toast was accepted with cheers and more drinking, so I’m fairly certain they approved of the short speech.

When dinner was done, we did not, as the girls expected, return to the ship. It was 23:30, local time, but considering that Dimiya had a thirty-one hour day, that meant that it was only a little past nightfall, and the local night life was still going strong. Which is why I had Raven lead us to the next place we’d picked out. Raven led us because, well, she was the only one who wasn’t a little tipsy by this point. The ale was really quite good.

Delirium was one of the hottest nightclubs in Thelorious, and the cover was definitely priced to match. Of course, I was walking in with seven smoking hot women (well, one of them was an android, but she would easily fool anyone who didn’t get her naked), so we were able to skip the line with an extra 100 credit donation to the Poor Bouncer Relief Fund. Never say I didn’t do anything for charity!

Inside the club, the music was pumping, loud enough that one needed to almost shout to be heard. Which is why most people in the club were connected to a local network, allowing them to communicate in an AR environment using text. To keep people’s personal data private, Delirium provided AR glasses and a ring that allowed you to control when you were typing (preventing any embarrassing incidents of ‘dance talking’). It was a pretty sweet setup, since you could only see texts (whether personal or general) from people who were on a mutual friends list unless they were in close proximity to you, and those were limited to personal messages only.

You have gained the skill: Dance.

+1 DEX

Dance increased to 2/100!

+1 DEX

Seduction increased to 18/100!

+3 CHA

Con increased to 12/100!

+2 CHA

Negotiation increased to 9/100!

+1 CHA

Special actions have increased attributes:

+2 CON, +5 END

A night of dancing, telling tales, flirting with my pets (and any other ladies that came over, like that hot server), and purchasing a few ‘recreational enhancers’ for myself and the others had an effect on my skills, and the drinking and exercise even helped boost my stats some. This is the kind of ‘training’ I could wholeheartedly support! Of course, the big jump to my Seduction skill came when I ‘persuaded’ Sana to slip into the restroom with me.

By this point in the night, we had all had at least our fair share of alcohol, and those ‘enhancers’ had kicked in for us all. Sana didn’t exactly put up a fight when I placed one hand on her ass and led her into the bathroom. Like a couple of horny teenagers, I soon had her against the wall, one hand sliding across the smooth fur of her thigh, and up between her legs, testing the wetness there. She may hate me for what I’d done to her, but her body wanted me, that much was clear.

I heard someone else come in after us, but ignored them. Sana’s fingers gripped my shoulders as her eyes widened. But she still meowed sweetly as I slid into her. Soon, she forgot about our audience, and, to be honest, so did I, caught up in the sensations of my pet’s body. Having her willing and wanting it for a change was exciting, and so much better than the usual when I was trying to break her and mold her into what I needed her to be. Sana gasped as I thrust into her, each motion pinning her to the wall. Her tail flicked back and forth against my leg, and she moaned louder when I lightly grabbed it. The tail was sensitive, it seemed.

Like a damn bursting, she let out a loud meow, and came. I followed shortly after, thrusting deep within and filling her greedy pussy with my seed. Long, sensual sessions were always enjoyable, but there was something thrilling about a quick sprint, raw and wild. When my climax finished, I pulled out of Sana, and guided her down to her knees to clean me up with her tongue.

It was only then that I looked into the bathroom mirror and saw who our half-remembered audience was. Apparently, my crew decided it would be great fun to follow us, and I saw at least two recording devices brazenly recording us.

“Cali, Jaynie, I get 25% of anything you make off those tapes.”

The girls erupted into giggles, but it was Raven who responded. “Of course, Captain. But I hope you’ve got time for everyone else tonight after that performance. You may have a mutiny on your hands, otherwise.”

“I—”

“I already booked us a suite at a nearby hotel for the night.”

“Yes, dear.” More laughter, this time even from Sana. Well, at least morale was good.

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Be sure to read my published works!

Frozen Soul series (Sci-Fi Supervillain story):

Frozen Soul https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071R125QT

Tales of the Void Traveler https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06ZZ52G37

Rules-Free VRMMO Life (Dark Fantasy LitRPG):

Volume 1 - Tutorial https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071VPRNDB

Omnibus 1 - Volumes 1-4 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0774T354X

Into the Black (Sci-Fi LitRPG):