Enryn

GERARD WHITTAKER

ENRYN

By Gerard Whittaker

Smashwords edition.

Copyright by Gerard Whittaker, 2010

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

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Prologue

"Hurry, for the Ship's sake hurry," her father snapped as the first of the snows began to fall on the farmstead.

Enryn ran outside to see the large white flakes of death falling from the sky for the first time, she was only ten but knew enough to panic, for when the snow fell the winter of the world would last a hundred and twenty years.

Her family rushed to pack the last of the harvest onto the carts, shutting down the only home Enryn had ever known for the last time, knowing they would never see it again. Soon the warm home would be crushed beneath the ice, just like everything else on the world. They pulled away into the snowfall, heading East towards the Sun as the Winter chased them back to the Ship.

Waiting for the final harvest had been a bad idea, but the Council had taken the risk with one small family to feed the entire ship through the long cold death.

It was all right for the Council, they could sleep through the winter, but the passengers would have to live and die huddled against the dark time, trusting to the hydroponics section to grow just enough to supplement what the farmsteads had been growing for the last hundred and eighty years.

In the world of Tharsius there was no day or night, just the slowly turning world that took three hundred years to turn once. The Sun melted the ice and grew crops while the hungry dark slowly crept up behind to kill everything not protected by the Ship.

The wagons rolled down the track, pulled by immense beasts that had served the family well for nearly two hundred years, but would be butchered back at the Ship. There was no room for compassion and no way to feed them, so they could either be turned loose to die in the cold or help feed the Passengers.

The family turned their ten wagons into the Sun, racing to escape the snow, and the clear night that would reveal the stars that no living man had seen.

An attack by savages from the rolling towns forced them to take a detour, and then a broken axle had delayed them even further; they finally ditched the wagon and tons of food. They reached the valley created by the immense colony ship crash landing to see it full of an early snow fall. All they could do was look on in horror, the ship was closed up, sealed off from the world for the next a hundred and twenty years. A further fall of snow covered the ship as they watched, turning to ice and burying it completely.

All they could do was turn their wagons into the Sun and chase the eternal dawn, knowing they had no chance to escape those who hunted them across the world of Tharsius.

The father looked sadly at his wife, their three sons and two daughters, wondering who would be the first to go. The bounty on their heads was enough to have every rolling town hunting them to extinction. And The Backbone of the World stood before them, the one place it was possible to circumnavigate the world of Tharsius and escape the hungry dark. But it was the last place they wanted to be for it was the lair of the beast who controlled the passage to the far side, and it did not like marooned aliens who were far brighter than the local peasants.

Except to eat.

"Enryn, you will make it somehow," Jinryn insisted. "I was born to kneel. And you to stand proudly." She was younger than her sister and didn't understand the reality of their plight; like many of the children of the Ship she was naturally subservient, and thought her free spirited sister was some kind of hero. Enryn knew better, she was terrified.

"I can't see any of us making it my sister," Enryn sighed. "We can't cross the Backbone when we reach it, and if we try to go through the tunnel we might as well invite the beast to eat us."

"Then all we can do is hide before the entrance and wait for a miracle," Jinryn gasped sadly.

"The dark has come and gone many times while we have waited for that my sister," Enryn sighed, "and we are still waiting to be rescued." Enryn turned for one last look at the Ship and could see nothing, nothing at all. The white death covered the land as far as the eye could see. She turned back to follow the wagons into a world of danger.

Percival Base, Louisiana, Earth

Master Gunnery Sergeant Ace Macintyre presented his papers at the Gatehouse and let the Taxi drop him off at the Sergeant's mess. He'd no idea what he was doing at Percival Base, but he was only a Master Gunny, just about the highest ranking Non-com in the US Marines, so of course no one told him what he was doing. It was his job to tell other people, meaning Officers, what he was doing. When he knew himself.

He reached his quarters to see half a dozen letters waiting for him, the biggest was from his Ex-wife, who had been following his progress over half the world, telling him she had sold their house and not to bother trying to find out how much she had got because the money was already safely tucked away in an offshore bank.

The next letter revealed an embossed card inviting him to a wedding.

Big deal!

Then he noticed the names of the two couples: John Percival and Isralla Inra-Shrombasre. Eileen Percival and Ison Inra-Shrombasre, cordially invite you to their joint wedding.

So the Percival family who had started two wars were now marrying into an alien family from a planet called Yag-Urth, that no one had ever heard of. Ace looked through the window as a Destroyer came in to land. The torpedo shaped body had three energy cannons running the entire length of the hull, and three stubby wings, again as long as the hull, with yet more huge cannons on the wingtips. He discounted the array of secondary turrets that festooned the black hull, they were overkill.

The Destroyer settled into a cradle, and was lowered into her silo, disappearing from sight. Ace saw the silo doors slide shut, sealing her off from attack, and then looked around the base, seeing a hundred or more silos, some far larger than the Destroyer's.

He had seen starships before, and even been on the Moon once, testing the readiness of the three huge Battle stations kept parked there for planetary defence. But he finally realised where he was. Percival Base was the home of the Percival family, who were the biggest defence contractors on Earth, and virtually ran the NASB, the National Aeronautical and Space Bureau, that had taken over all military affairs in space. It had always seemed strange to him, that the people who made the ships and sold them to the Government were also the ones who fought them.

They were making money every way, for every ship they lost in combat they would sell the Government an even bigger one.

Nice deal.

Ace checked the time and changed into his dress uniform, asking the way to the wedding. "I'm just going myself," the desk Sergeant offered, "you can't miss the Cathedral, but it's a long way so I'll take you Gunny."

"A Cathedral on a Base," Ace gasped.

"But this is Percival Base, we do the impossible every day."

"I was wondering why I was invited?"

"Everyone is invited, everyone," he laughed.

The traffic soon slowed into a veritable traffic jam as they drove across the base, past the Percival mansion, that warranted a private security screen and a ring of energy cannons, and on towards the far side of the Base.

The Cathedral consisted of several low domes of crystal and a dozen towering spires holding multi coloured shapes that looked like natural living gems. The bright sunlight hit the gems and was split into a thousand prismatic colours, that seemed to surround the Cathedral in half a hundred rainbows, which recombined into a dome of white light declaring independence from all Earthly authority. Either man made or natural.

"Looks tacky to me," Ace dismissed it. "Like something left over from Vegas. And those fake gems, I ask you?"

"When you consider that a month ago it didn't exist, and that as best we can tell the gems are real, I hope you'll look with fresh eyes."

Ace turned back to see the Cathedral as a work of alien art.

"Mind you," the driver laughed, "I'd like to see some fool try to steal a one ton diamond, it'd make one hell of an engagement ring."

Ace looked at the dome of pure white light that surrounded the Cathedral, and only then realised it was impossible to enter with ill will, for it was protected from all harm. He had a feeling that it would still be there long after mankind had left this plane of existence.

They pulled into a car park and walked into the work of art, to see the interior was of plain white marble with a clear dome for a ceiling. There were no pews in the vast white space, and everyone stood mingling in confusion. The family stood gathered on the alter welcoming them all, even the two brides.

Ace had expected the bonding of the children of two very powerful families to be different, but he had seen nothing yet.

Then a being appeared in the entrance, a woman of great power who walked towards the alter, leaving roses growing within the marble with each step. The flowers ran under the floor and up the white walls, growing and flowering as the guests watched them in disbelief.

The ceremony was brief, the two couples knelt humbly naked before The Lady, looking up at her as she judged their souls and love. A blond girl knelt before them carrying the rings on a silken cushion, and as John and Isralla exchanged rings they gave a bracelet to the astonished girl. The crowd were not sure what that meant.

Eileen and Ison were next, and bonded with eternal love.

Then The Lady looked across the crowd to see another couple with a daughter. She commanded them silently to kneel before her, a short blond girl was also dragged to kneel behind them. The Lady bound the couple together, with the blond who served them and their adopted daughter, forming a single family.

The Lady glanced across the room, looking deep into all their eyes. Some looked away in shame, before being compelled to look into Her eyes, finding repentance and forgiveness.

Ace caught her gaze for a split second that lasted an eternity, his soul was ripped bare, his crimes revealed and his sorrow judged. All that he had done, both good and ill, was understood and forgiven. Even by him. The gaze moved on leaving him trembling like a leaf.

One man stared at her defiantly, daring her to judge his sins.

She turned to the alter and a statue appeared, thirty foot tall and holding a jagged spear of justice. The man saw the spear aimed straight at his heart, and collapsed before The Lady.

She turned away seeing the family again, and her tranquil face turned thunderous. She pointed to a boy of about seven, snapping, "You were not invited, get thee gone worm!"

A dark form was pulled kicking and screaming from the boy's chest and he collapsed. The Lady grew to monstrous proportions, holding the wriggling creature with rage. "You would dare invade this family that I have Blessed! Yes, I know you. Never again shall you return to Earth, or threaten them in any way, now be gone!" She flung the creature from the Earth forever.

Then she turned to the boy laying crumpled on the flowered marble, seeing a girl of eleven holding him in tears. "Your love and devotion do you credit Lorza, but fear not for Jack." Then she saw the damage the Aelder had left on the boy and held them both in rage. "Child, my time is limited in this realm, I have not the power to save him."

"Then use me Great Lady, use me to save Jack."

"You would willingly sacrifice yourself to save your charge?"

"If that is the only way, then I accept. Take me lady that he may live."

The Lady smiled and let them go, but instead of being seven and eleven they now looked sixteen each. "I took years from you to save Jack, and gave them back. Lorza, your love has saved you both. From this day forward your hearts shall beat as one for all time, I unite you both in My Name."

The Lady seemed to fade from reality, floating away across the cosmos, leaving behind a very humble crowd and a thirty foot high statue infused with Her Presence.

Ace stumbled from the Cathedral, seeing tiny winged forms flying through the multi coloured marble roses, and wanted to believe they were birds, he wanted to believe that very badly indeed.

"Come on, or we'll miss the Titanic," his driver bustled him away from the Cathedral.

"You what!"

"The Titanic, that's where the reception is."

Ace looked across from the Cathedral to see a full sized copy of the RMS Titanic floating in an artificial lake. A Perspex cover shielded the whole deck, only the twin masts and the four funnels were missing to dispel the illusion that it was the real ship.

Ace climbed the gangway and showed his invitation to the steward, who directed him to the first class section and the Cafe Paresian, where he blended in with the Big Guns. That was one thing about being a Master Gunny, he did the work but also got the credit; half of his job was making the Officers look good, and mingling with the civilian dignitaries who did not trust Officers.

It took an hour for the fake ship to load, and Ace saw the Percivals and new family rushing on board.

Then the sky lit up with fireworks that seemed to be flying rather slowly. Ace looked over the rail to see the ground falling away from the ship.

The Titanic was flying.

"I take it you didn't get the information pack?"

Ace turned to see John Percival and his new wife Isralla grinning at his look of shock. "If I had read this, I still would not believe it sir," he said snapping to attention.

"I'm not in the army anymore," John offered his hand. "In a few weeks I'm going to need someone I can trust. And I thought who better than a Master Gunny."

"Then you chose me sir. May I ask why?"

Isralla took over, she was a very short and slim girl who was trying to look eighteen, with short golden hair and large golden eyes. Ace had read an article claming that she was far older than she looked, but he refused to believe she was forty.

"We are going on a cruise in a new ship," Isralla explained, "and it's going to be exiting. Unfortunately we've been forced to take units from half our armed forces with us, and that is a recipe for disaster."

John continued, "There is no overall control, half the Units are in active competition with each other, and the Percival/ Inra-Shrombasre family are a civilian organisation who can make suggestions and hope the military leaders take our advice seriously."

"That sounds familiar," Ace sighed. "So where do I come in? Not to spy on my Bosses?"

"Nothing like that," John gasped. "However, we need to know the true state of the Iowa. And not some Bulshit dreamt up by an incompetent officer."

"You'll be quartered with the Marines," Isralla continued. "But have free run of the ship and a direct line to us. You're not married?"

"Not anymore," he sighed.

"Good, this is going to be a long cruise and all the men are single," John pointed out. "The Iowa is a warship and there aren't any married quarters. There aren't that many women on board, and those that are will pull their weight."

"So where are we going?"

"Oh, a quick spin around the Galaxy," Isralla laughed. "It might take two or three years."

"How big is she?" Ace gasped in shock.

"More than three hundred thousand tons," John laughed. "The Iowa is a Dreadnought with planetary assault capability, using the Marines, an Air wing under the Air Force, even the Army and Navy have a huge military presence."

"And they will squabble like babies if they don't get their own way," Isralla sighed.

A very pretty girl with dark blond hair came up with Champaign for them all, she served them and stood chatting while grinning madly.

Ace noticed her bracelet and saw that it matched John and Isralla's rings. "I saw you in the ceremony."

"I'm Jina, I belong to them," she laughed. "But I didn't know how much till they gave me this bracelet."

"I'm still confused about that," Ace sighed. "The papers were calling you some kind of slave!"

"Trust the press," she sighed. "My name is Jina Percival and I serve them willingly. Gunny, I kneel before no one!"

"So who was that?" he stumbled over the question. "Who, or what, married you?"

"The Lady of Yag-Urth, Ellberath the Divine," Isralla laughed, "an old family friend. She insisted on performing the ceremony, to make sure I was properly married off."

"She was a Goddess!" Ace gasped.

"Yes, so what?" Jina asked simply.

The Titanic past Mars as the team of Blue dancers from the world of Triteam were putting on a show of acrobatics the passengers would never forget.

As they past Jupiter there was a chore singing of love and honour in perfect tune and with rousing words, as the final thirty survivors of the Warrior Bards of the LySeelel gave their benediction to the family who had saved their race from total extinction.

The meal was served on the way to Saturn.

Then, by Saturn's light the four couples danced declaring their love. Especially the two that hadn't intended to get married. Darko and Karin were dancing sweetly, as their adopted daughter Birgit was laughing with Atia, the blond girl who served them.

The newly sixteen year olds Lorza and Jack Percival were swaying gently in each others arms, lost in their eyes.

Eileen and Ison too were dancing stately, while suspiciously watching their joint mothers laughing in the bar.

John and Isralla danced lively around the floor having a great time, as Jina was invited to join them.

Ace watched the display sadly from bitter memory. "It will last."

He turned to see a seven foot tall woman gazing down on him with emerald eyes, she was graceful and serene, and could easily pass for twenty. "It will last forever," she repeated. "They were blessed by The Lady. They will still fight but never forget their love."

"You are the Lady Gyor?" Ace asked. "Isralla and Ison's mother."

"And ten thousand things besides," she laughed. "But I'm quite pleased to be shut of those two trouble makers. The only down side is that they married two more troublemakers. I dread to think what my grandchildren will be like!"

"I'm sure they will be fine," Ace laughed.

"They'd better be, because we're planning on building some rather large ships, and I don't want a delinquent borrowing one for a joyride." She sighed, "With June's help, and a lot of brandy, I hope to be a better grandmother than I ever was a mother."

"Then you won't be joining us on the Iowa?"

"Not on your life, I wouldn't miss it for the world," she laughed. "In my line of work I go from point A to point B without seeing what is in between. But this time I get to go the scenic route. By the way, we'll be stopping off on Tharsius on the way out, so you get to do a sweep with the Marines, as a taster for space combat."

"Objective?"

"Nothing really, just trying out the new hardware," she lied sweetly.

In the middle of the base, a mile from the Percival residence, the blast doors were withdrawn, leaving a vast pit reaching down into the Uber replicator. Ace stared down into the hole as something moved in the darkness. Navigational lights were springing on, and then a hundred search lights, and a vast form began to emerge from the darkness. She slowly floated free of her artificial womb, reaching for sunlight and fresh air the USSS Iowa was born.

Ace watched the ship emerging silently from the depths, dwarfing any other ship he had ever seen, she was three times the size of the largest aircraft carrier on Earth. Her hull was a streamlined ellipsoid, with seven huge turrets in a V formation on her upper deck, and a further seven on her keel. Each turret held a twenty meter wide plasma cannon and five gauss cannons flush with the armour, which left the hundred smaller defence turrets in the shade.

The prow held a spinal mount cannon running the entire length of the mile long ship, and twenty more gauss cannons facing forward. Hatches for the assault ships and launch tubes for the Squadrons of Gnat fighters dotted the hull.

Ace had spent the last month crawling through every inch of the stupendous ship, getting to know her from the inside, but to see her flying was unbelievable. It was like watching a skyscraper tearing its self from the earth and take to the sky.

The Iowa gently floated to space where she belonged, and took up geostationary orbit over Percival Base.

The flight testing took another month, with Ace working hand in hand with the engineers, finding out what would work and what would not. But the design was sound and there was hardly anything needed fixing.

The Iowa received her certificate of space worthiness, something the NASA Space Shuttles had never earned, and the crew began to board. The Marines flew in on their landing craft. The Air Force flew their Gnat fighters and Hornet strike ships in to the launch tubes and hangers. The Army flew in their Mechanised Infantry and Grav tanks. Even the Navy loaded six attack ships capable of long distance strikes against capitol ships or hardened targets.

After the last war the Earth was going to the stars in force, to find out what was there and seize it if need be. But mainly to dissuade any potential aggressor from thinking Earth was a soft target.

With the Percival family back from their honeymoons the Iowa was ready to reach for space. John and Eileen stood before the master navigational tank, plotting her route to Tharsius. At twenty light-years it was the closest nearly friendly planet so far visited, with a twenty man base already set up. There were still five habital worlds even closer, but they were in our own backyard and so beneath the Iowa's notice. NASA was planning to visit them as soon as the Iowa was long out of communication range, they badly needed a public relation's coup to keep their funding.

The Iowa tested her legs, reaching the edge of the Solar System in three hours, just pushing the speed of light. They shut her down for a complete systems check and found nothing wrong.

The next test was a five light-year leap across space, stopping briefly at one of the worlds NASA was planning on visiting. Agent Darko did a full sweep of the planet and transmitted the data back to Earth, revealing a lush world that would support human life if you like bugs, big bugs, about ten feet high.

They didn't seem to be intelligent but they did have termite type cities as big as New York.

For some reason Darko didn't like NASA.

Again the Iowa leapt across space, taking up orbit around Tharsius, and let the Navy launch their ships to scout the system properly.

John asked Ace to use his Marine Rifle Platoon to provide an escort as the family flew on down to the Backbone of the World, seeing a stupendous range of mountains that cut the world in half. As the sun revealed new fertile land and the night gobbled up the rest. The Percivals swooped down towards the world in their personal Frigate, the Arrow, as the Marines followed them in a delta shaped Lander, that dropped four flying personnel carriers and a scout vehicle for Ace and his driver. The Lander fled back to space, ready to pick them up on command.

With the Percival's safely in the tunnel through the Backbone of the World, Ace put his men through ambush drill, reminding them that it didn't matter which planet they were on, they were still Marines.

The driver was a short, dark and pretty Latino, and could have made it as a model if she didn't like blowing things up so much; she put the combat car down on the dry savannah, between three distant herds of creatures, one of which would make a T-rex look warm and fuzzy. The other two herds were armoured, spined and mountainous.

Ace leapt from the car to work his way towards the top of a high bank, scanning the distance with his electro binoculars, looking for the ambush he was supposed to walk into.

One of the EAI Carriers left a distinct shadow from the rear cowling, giving him the chance to locate the other three by what he could not see, rather than what he could. Three patches of the dry grass were so ordinary they could only be camouflage, nature likes diversity.

He slipped back into the gully, and noticed his driver was filing her nails, waiting for orders. "Stay here Sal, I'm going to rip them off for this." He slipped his carbine into the cover under his rear battle harness, strapping it down.

Sal nodded, it was what she expected. Nobody got to be a Gunny through being nice.

Ace slipped back down the gully half a mile and began to out flank the ambush, hitting them from behind.

But as he closed with his team mates he heard a noise from beyond a low strand of bush. A grunting rustle and a faint jabber of an alien tongue. He had no remit to mix with the locals, but that had never stopped him before.

Ace crept through the grass, closing with his prey, slipping silently ever closer to the aliens. He knew that most of the population were humanoid, small greenish and greedy, so he didn't expect to run into anything big and creepy.

What he certainly didn't expect was for a girl to run into him, fleeing from a pack of creatures that looked half wolf and half mantis.

She slammed into his chest, rolled over and continued running without a pause, vanishing into the brush in seconds.

Ace leapt to his feet to see three short green men bleeding on the dry grass with light lances sticking in their guts, while four more charged after the girl with long swords.

He saw her drop a spear thrower and run for her life as the hounds from hell chased her down. All he could do was turn around and chase after her.

She was fit and athletic, not loaded down with enough equipment to start a war, and scared out of her mind; so he had trouble keeping up. The hounds didn't have that problem, they swept out and closed in from three sides.

He knew she wasn't in real danger, but she did not. If caught she might spend a year or two held captive before being traded at the Backbone of the World; to be bought and freed by the Earth outpost. She thought her fate was to be fed to the Aelder that once controlled the passage to the far side of the world.

To Ace this was not really serious, but to the girl it was life and death.

She kept glancing over her shoulder seeing the strange man always a few feet behind her. The only chance she had was to kill him and then the hounds, and hope the little thieves would attack one at a time.

It was impossible, she knew that, but it had never stopped her before. In the last twelve years of hopeless drifting this was not the first time she'd had to fight for her life.

In desperation she stopped dead and turned to face him with a drawn knife. He pulled to a stop just out of knife range, panting and had to smile. She was tanned heavily by the sun and didn't wear much, just a light strip of leather that ran from one shoulder to mid thigh, barely covering her firm breasts; her hair was long and dark, and her face frantic with terror. She could have been in her early twenties, but was so covered in dust, sweat and fear it was hard to tell.

She charged him with her knife slashing left and right. He parried and blocked with ease, enjoying her look of desperation, but behind the short greenish guys were catching up, and the hounds were still closing in.

All hope of life fled as she realised she was finally beaten by a new breed of man she had never heard of. For a brief second she thought of ending it, rather than becoming a slave and then a snack for a monster. Her knife was sharp, and it would be over soon. She raised her knife to see him smiling gently at her, without threat.

He pulled back, raising his hands as if in surrender, as the first hound jumped her. She spun at the beast, clearly expecting him to attack her defenceless back. He tried to tell himself it wasn't his problem, and called himself a liar. She might be a savage but he was a gentleman. The first of the men caught up, uncurling a long whip.

Okay, things were getting out of hand.

He might not be authorised to help her, but he'd be damned if he'd see her whipped.

Ace saw another hound about to dive on the girl, and lashed out with one foot, crushing the creatures throat. The green man shouted in anger and tried to whip Ace.

Without authorisation to draw his weapon Ace was restricted to resolving the situation the old fashioned way. But at least the sides now formally set. Ace grabbed the whip with his armoured wrist and pulled the man off guard, knocking him to the ground. A light tap with his boot gave the victim a nice long sleep.

The girl turned to see Ace covering her back, and killed her hound with the knife, as two more men burst onto the scene. One charged her with the sword, over extending his reach and slipped as she side stepped the blow. She spun and lunged with her knife into the fallen man, ripping him from chest to groin. He felt her knife enter his guts and slid away bleeding badly, desperately trying to stop his intestines from spilling onto the grass.

The last man turned on Ace, trying to poke him with a seven foot sword. The response was instinctive, he slid past the sword and slammed it point first into the ground, standing on the tip. The swordsman struggled to free the sword and looked Ace in the eyes for a split second, then dropped the sword and ran for it.

Ace turned to the girl laughing, to see her knife heading for his head. He ducked as she thrust, and caught her over his shoulder, throwing her to the grass; standing on her knife. She rolled free and he pocketed the blade.

"Okay, if you want me, come and get me," he laughed.

Unarmed she dived for him, fighting for her life as he parried her blows with ease. But Ace never stopped smiling, he was enjoying the bout with a worthy opponent. If she had been trained he might have been in trouble. Quite when she started to smile was uncertain, but she knew he could take her at anytime, and that he was playing with her. It was a shock, she had never practised learning to fight, to her it was in desperation not fun. At last she dived at him with outspread arms, but instead of ducking he stood there and let her catch him.

They crashed to the ground, wrestling together without any kind of hostile intent, just trying to see who could come out on top, and she being the more supple kept beating him, until he used his greater strength to topple her to the ground.

Finally they both collapsed from exhaustion, and lay side by side panting heavily. He turned to look at her closely for the first time as a new sound emerged from the savannah, that of wild yells and stampeding hooves. The swordsman had returned driving a stampede of monsters before him. This was no attempt to catch the girl, but to kill them both.

The girl tried to run, but he held her hand tightly and drew his point fifty carbine from the bottom of his battle dress. She could only stare at the weapon with incomprehension. He aimed instinctively and fired once, the shot was quiet but the bullet still streaked past the sound barrier knocking the swordsman back into the stampede. If it was the bullet or the stampede that killed him was not clear, but the dinner plate sized hole in his chest certainly didn't help.

Then he fired again and again into the middle of the herd, trying to force them to split around them. With any other weapon it would not have worked, but the point fifty bullets packed one hell of a wallop no matter what they hit, and at ten shots a second, every second, very little could withstand them.

A T-Rex sized beast stumbled first with a missing head, and then a monstrous snake slammed into it, and a beetle as big as a bus collapsed with eight legs torn off. It started to work, a few creatures stumbled before them forming a barrier, and then more crashed into the dead, and the herd ran right and left.

The EAIs swooped from the sky, and the girl looked up in horror, stumbling from Ace just as a jagged beast took a shortcut, and clipped her left arm. She went flying before the stampede. Ace had a split second to grab her and jump for the EAI, as the monsters swept below them. The girl could only stare down on the animated death below her, and saw Ace pulling her into an alien craft. Once inside she fainted from shock.

Ace straitened her clothing and put the knife back in her sheath. "Sleep well," he chuckled as the medic checked her out and gave her a sedative. "You've had a busy day."

"So what do we do with her?" the medic asked with a grin.

"How is she?"

"Pretty beat up, borderline malnutrition and a couple of old wounds that need treating. But apart from that, very nice indeed."

"I'll hand her over to the Percivals, I'm sure she'll be safe there. Only wish I knew her name."

The Iowa left Tharsius behind, heading for deep space and the unknown.

Ace had never seen the girl again, she was not important enough to come up in conversation with the Percivals. Her welfare was not on any list of 'need to do', and so she didn't rate a mention.

It was three weeks later when Lady Gyor asked Gunny for a favour. A big favour.

"I've had an SOS from home. Please don't ask stupid questions, I'm sure you know where I mean. My homeland Orissia is being invaded and I have to go back to stop it. I can't let you get involved in my war, my family have already volunteered to help with that. But I am asking you to help cover the gateway, to stop them entering the Iowa."

"You are talking magic?" he asked with worry.

"Yes Gunny, I'm talking big magic, to open a gateway to another dimension. And just to make it interesting it will be half way up a tower, so we'll have to clime down into a war without clothing or weapons."

"Do you ever do anything the easy way?"

"Now that you mention it, not that I can remember," she sighed. "You'll get your gear back on the ground, but you can't go through the portal carrying anything. This is highly dangerous, but I've been working on the problem for a couple of years, so I know what I'm doing. I think."

"Right, we hold the breach and you do your stuff, which is?"

"Killing the command staff and cutting their supply line, then they can only go home. Most of the civilian population managed to escape, but unless I can stall the invasion the Savages will soon be rounding them up for dinner. The lucky ones. The women of child baring age will have it far worse than being eaten, they will be forced to birth a new generation of monsters, before being eaten."

"I'm starting not to like them," Ace gasped.

"If they managed to follow us into the Iowa it will be a blood bath. Your carbines are great, but hardly anyone on the ship is armed. And all the Savages are massive and blood thirsty."

"Guarding the Iowa from being boarded is a legitimate use of Marines," Ace sighed. "You'll cover my butt if anything goes wrong?"

"You'll be fine Gunny," she laughed.

"When do you want us?"

"Now, I'll be opening the portal in five minutes."

"I'd better wake them up," he sighed.

"What the hell am I doing here?" Ace yelled as he climbed naked through a window in an impossible room and lowered himself down the rope that seemed to run through a lightning festooned tunnel between dimensions. He swung downwards as fast as he could, passing through a barrier in reality and landed in a castle courtyard with the family, who were pulling on armour and checking weapons. John, Isralla, Eileen, Ison, their mothers June and Gyor, and John's father Bob. Ace's Rifle Platoon came next, rappelling down the rope and getting ready; Sal came last, a teenage girl without any concept of modesty. Then the teenagers Jack and Lorza. Agents Darko and Karin came last, bringing their young daughter, who also carried a carbine.

Trust the Percivals to turn a war into a family outing!

Gyor had opened a pocket reality bringing their gear, and they dressed hurriedly, as the sound of war clashed outside the castle wall.

The Rifle Platoon formed up, thirty six men in four man fire teams. It should have been a few more, but all married men had been left on Earth. Sal stood next to Ace as his personal driver and general dogsbody. Normally the fire teams would have an assortment of weapons, three M16s, one with a grenade launcher, and a light machine gun.

That was then.

Now the carbines had replaced all but the heavy crew mounted weapons.

With replicated ammunition, that never ran out, and a choice of point fifty calibre full metal jacket, armour piercing, grenades, incendiary, self guiding sniper rounds and flares, they gave each Marine an unbeatable combination of fire power.

The family rushed off through the gate, firing as they ran, shooting their way through an army of monsters, rushing to the town of Orissia where the real battle was.

For one minute Ace stood still, obeying orders. "To hell with this. Teams one, two and three, guard the way home; the rest follow me."

Ace ran through the gate and into hell, followed by twenty four men and Sal, she'd finished with her nails and now brandished her carbine as though she knew how to use it.

She did, very well indeed.

The night was filled with screams and the clash of arms, as bestial figures attacked with bow and sword. Their hides were a swarthy greenish colour, with yellow tusks and piggy little glowing eyes. Roughly tanned hides and chain-mail covered the leaders while many were naked but for a cleaver. It was the naked ones who were trouble, they needed to gain honour in battle before being allowed to breed with captured women. All they thought of was war and sex, just like most men.

It really wasn't hard to pick the bad guys who ran forward yelling blood thirsty war cries, from the good who fled in terror screaming for mercy. Ace opened up with a short burst that swept twenty Savages from the road, as Sal was picking off those chasing the fleeing civilians.

The Marines chased down the road, firing at will, laying waste to the army of nightmare, but always more came on in never ending numbers.

They caught up with the Percivals near the town centre, entering a leather factory with a built on shop that catered to the elite. John turned, "Don't you know how to obey orders?"

Ace laughed, "Nope!"

"Good, there may be hope for you yet." The shop was tastefully fitted out to cater for rich clients, with a walk way for models to display the produce to the seated guests, while they sipped excellent wine and chatted with the sales assistants, but now it was empty and would never be used again. They entered the factory to see it full of refugees.

Gyor rushed forward to embrace a tall brunet. Then she turned to the rest and turned white, for the factory was full of people, some well dressed but many in rags or nothing at all. "What are you doing here?" she gasped.

"Waiting for you mistress Gyor," a woman in her mid forties replied, her twin sister gasped, "We knew you would come."

"Lady!" she sobbed. "I can't handle this many."

"Who are they?" Ace asked quietly.

"My former lovers, cum slaves, and their slaves. And about half the slave market by the look of it. About four hundred in total. I can't take them and can't leave them."

"They will die here," Ace pointed out.

"This I know."

"Lady Gyor," he sighed, "do what you have to do, we will take care of them."

"But you can't take them to the Iowa," she gasped.

"You promised to cover my butt if anything went wrong. I'll hold you to that. But the refugees are stopping you from completing your mission and returning to the ship."

"This is En-eta," she introduced the young brunet clinging in desperation to her arm, "you will take her back to the Iowa, and if any more wish to accompany you, it will be on their head."

En-eta sighed, "Lady Gyor, I know of the restriction on the portal spell, so we removed all the slaves' collars and chains, they will run faster in freedom and enter your reality naked."

"Sal, look after her," Ace commanded.

"Aye Gunny," she replied. "Lady, she will be safe with me."

"Sal is it?" Gyor examined the tiny Latino girl as though expecting the Marine to break in two under her icy glare. Then the Mage did the unexpected, gasping sincerely, "Please look after her, I've been missing her so much..."

Gyor, Isralla, Ison, Eileen, John, June and Bob, slipped into the street, leaving the rest to organise the mad rush back to the castle.

Ace took the point, with twenty four men in a arrow formation behind him, guarding the refugees, with the flanks and rear covered by more of the family. Then they rolled forward, crushing all who came against them with point fifty carbines that never ran out of ammunition. They cut a bloody swath through the savage army, leaving no survivors.

A young girl crept from beneath the wreck of her family's wagon, and her family, who had tried to save everything they could except their own lives, seeing the impossible army sweeping through the Savages with disdain. Ceri could only scamper to catch up in terror as three naked Savages tried to run her down and rape her. They grabbed her long dress with callused paws, ripping into the rich fabric, tearing it off one shoulder. She struggled to pull away, leaving yet more cloth in their claws.

En-eta glanced around to see the tragedy unfolding, she gestured to her minder. Sal glanced back, fired three times and continued on without even breaking step.

Ceri heard three whip cracks as the point fifties flew past her head, and the sound of the Savages being ripped apart. In shock she realised it had been a girl no older that herself that had saved her life. She ran even faster, ever just a few feet behind the exodus as her luxurious silk slippers were torn to shreds on the cobbled road.

Occasionally Ace heard huge explosions across the town, and knew Lady Gyor was doing her worst, decimating the leadership. Then further explosions on the far side of the town where John and Isralla were destroying the invasion barges and supply ships.

They reached the castle and were pulled inside. The rope now had leather wrist straps bound tightly every few feet, which rose into the air despite the rope standing still. Ace told his first team to strip off and grab the rope, and they quickly rose into the air and vanished from view. He made sure Sal and En-eta were safely away.

Everyone else had to strip and let the rope pull them to safety, as the Marines in the Tower pulled them into Gyor's study and beyond into the Iowa.

Ceri watched all the refugees stripping, realising that being a slave was the only option. She looked up as Sal and En-eta were vanishing through the portal. For the first time in her life she undressed herself, pulling off the ruined dress until she stood naked surrounded by strange men. Feeling horror and disgust on top of her terror, she queued to grab one of the straps and was pulled from the ground towards slavery.

Finally only Ace and ten men, stripped down to nothing but their armour, stood guarding the castle wall and the way home.

Explosions wracked the town as the family fought their way home with magic, sword and carbine, as a few thousand irate monsters chased them through the streets.

They made it back as the Marines fired an endless supply of grenades into the monsters' massed ranks, killing hundreds but thousands more came on. The family stripped off and rode the rope to safety, still firing into the army until the very last second before dropping their carbines and vanishing through the portal. Finally only Lady Gyor and Ace stood next to the rope. "It's my duty to go last," she said. "I have to sort out the weapons and armour, we can't let the savages get it."

"Don't hang about, I'll cover you as long as I can." Ace dropped his armour and rode the rope still firing grenades at the monsters, as arrows pinged off the wall around him.

Gyor twisted the high tech weapons and armour from existence, and dived for the rope as two savages leapt for her legs.

Ace was almost at the portal, he saw what was happening and dropped for the lower strap and then the next one, lowering himself towards Gyor as she clung on for dear life with two monsters clinging to her legs.

An arrow caught his right shoulder and the carbine fell into the crowd of monsters that swarmed below them. Holding on with his left arm he reached for Gyor with his leg, as she swung up to catch his foot. Then he let the rope pull them through the portal as a second arrow caught him in the back.

The portal accepted him and Gyor, but not the hitchhiking monsters who were dressed and armed, and they were pulled into the tower within the ship. Then explosion after explosion wracked the void beyond the window, as the route to Yag-Urth was forever sealed.

"I was afraid of that," Gyor gasped. "I pushed reality too far, and it finally pushed back. We can never return."

Ace finally understood, to be reunited with her slave En-eta, Gyor had deliberately exiled them to this dimension, cutting all ties with her homeworld.

Both were wounded and the medic sounded the alert, soon they were laying side by side in the infirmary, wrapped in bandages.

"Your carbine," Gyor gasped. "What serial number was it?" He told her and she smiled, clicking her fingers. "You won't tell anyone will you Gunny?"

"That you've just destroyed it?"

"No, not yet, but when it is taken back to their underground city and given to their leader, then it will be destroyed."

"Big explosion?" he asked with a grin.

"Very," she sighed. "It'll be a thousand years before they can try this again."

En-eta came to greet Gyor, she was a sweet girl, nearly six foot tall, dusky and very relieved to be back with her mistress for the first time in two years. She had been described as a slave, by someone who didn't know her, but she stood tall and proud, talking to Lady Gyor as one free person to another. "John and Isralla are running interference for you both," she sighed. "You are both interned here until the fuss over the slaves has died down."

"So what is the situation now?" Ace asked.

"Most of the refugees are owned or related, and that's not a problem. It's the two hundred from the slave market that has us stumped, the children we can look after, plenty of room for a school on this ship. Half the girls were from the brothels or dance halls, others maids, factory workers, even field labour and concubines. It's amazing how little their masters got selling them in a war, but they weren't worth the effort to save!" En-eta sighed in outrage. "We can't free them on the Iowa, can't take them home, and can't abandon them."

"So you put them to work," Gyor guessed. "There must be plenty of menial jobs that need doing on a ship this size."

Sal and a few Marines came visiting, she had a naked girl with her who would not let go of her arm. Ceri was a short blond with a slim figure and small breasts, a cute face and large terrified green eyes which constantly glanced around the med bay in wonder.

"Trouble?" Ace laughed.

"This chick's been begging to be my slave since we gave her the translator injection," Sal sighed in frustration. "Come on, do I look the type?"

"I want to be owned by Sal," Ceri sobbed. "Please don't turn me away."

Gyor examined the girl, from her upper class accent to her uncallused neck and wrists. She called Sal over, whispering, "I don't know where she came from, but she is not a slave."

"I figured that out, I think she picked on me because I was the only girl with the Marines."

"She wants to feel safe," Gyor agreed. "Look after her Sal, she'll be happy cleaning your quarters; it's the least I can do for the help you gave En-eta."

Sal turned to the girl in confusion, "Ceri, I will accept you, but you'd better be worth the effort."

The girl looked up in sudden hope.

Gyor and Ace spent a week hiding in the infirmary, they could have left at any time but the Mage was totally drained by the battle and didn't want to face a formal hearing over her conduct putting the Iowa at risk.

When things quietened down they both crept back to their quarters, keeping their heads down.

Ace finally got to visit the Marines' mess near his quarters, mixing with his Rifle Platoon off duty, and finding that the food was far better than the Sergeant's mess. About twenty slaves helping in the kitchen might have had something to do with it.

It was getting late when Ace turned to see a girl staring at him from the serving hatch. All she wore was a simple work smock, that looked to have been made from a pillowcase, and an apron. The Marine Quartermasters' store didn't stock clothing for female slaves.

He knew her from somewhere.

"Am I then that forgettable?" she snapped in anger. "You saved my bloody life and forget about it!"

"Ah, the girl who tried to skewer me with a knife," he gasped. "But what are you doing here?"

"This is where all the slaves belong," she gasped.

"But you're not a slave," he insisted.

"Try telling them that," she gestured to the mess officer.

"Can we try again? Hi, I'm Ace, but most people call me Gunny."

"Hi, I'm Enryn, and most people call me Hey You!"

He invited her over to sit facing him. "We can straighten this out. Where did you come from?"

"Tharsius of course," she snapped in anger.

"Please Enryn, let me help you. I did save your life."

"Right," she sighed. "I'm one of the Ship people, do you know about us?"

"Who doesn't," he sighed. "We have a standing order to save as many of you as we can."

"You mean enslave, sacrifice!"

"I mean save your lives and free you," he insisted. "The sacrifices are over and the monster dead. Our ruling family, the Percivals, saved a few of you two years ago and slew the creature that fed on your kind, and accepted them into their family. Enryn, they are free."

"Free to kneel," she insisted.

"John and Isralla married a few months ago, and gave their girl Jina a bracelet during the ceremony. Does that sound like she is a slave?"

"Well, no," she gasped. "Look, I'm confused about this ship, the lights keep going out. Can you tell me why?"

"Lord," he sighed sadly, "don't you know anything?" Ace was beginning to think he was wasting his time with her, she was a savage.

"Please tell me why the lights go out. I've never seen the dark in my life, we always equate black with death, and I've never seen stars before," she said in wonder.

Ace spilled some sugar on the table and proceeded to explain about Earth having a twenty four hour day, rather than a three hundred year one.

"So you are used to sleeping in the dark," she gasped in shock. "That explains it all." Far from a savage Enryn was a very bright girl, and a very brave one to have survived on her own for ten years.

Ace was sitting across from a lovely girl wearing a pillowcase, and respecting her courage and intelligence.

When he realised that he started to laugh.

There were many things she did not understand but she was worth teaching. For the first time he began to think of Enryn as more than a quick lay. Perhaps the blessing he had received had absolved his bad luck and he could look towards the future for the first time since his divorce. All he needed was someone to share it with.

"Come to think of it," he mused, "I thought your tradition insisted that you give yourself to the one who saved your life?"

"Only if I can find him," she snapped. "I have my own standards to find one worthy of me."

"And what are they?" he sighed.

"Three orgasms in a row," she insisted.

"Three, only three! Your last lover must have been a civilian."

"Then how many do you give?" she scoffed.

"With the right partner, about six or more," he said mildly.

"If that," she pointed to his groin, "isn't as big as that," she pointed to his mouth, "don't waste my time!"

He reached across the table to cup her neck, and pull her forward for a stolen kiss. "Now you know the size of my mouth, if you want to check the other, let me know."

Enryn stood up and removed her apron, heading for the door. She turned back, "So what's keeping you?"

Ace led her from the galley towards his quarters.

He awoke in the morning to see her sitting on his bed naked and scowling at him.

"So?" he asked quizzically.

"That was only five," she snapped.

"And the one in the shower?"

"Six then," she sighed.

"There would have been more but you fainted."

"I did no such thing!" she insisted. "Well, perhaps I fell asleep."

"I've an hour before I get up," he warned her. "Let's see how many we can manage in that time?"

"Bloody hell!"

Ace returned to his quarters that evening to find Enryn going through his wardrobe, comparing his uniforms with bemusement.

"You've more clothes than anyone I've ever met."

"I thought you'd be back in the galley."

"I quit, like you said, I'm not a slave."

"So what are you doing then?"

"Giving myself to the man who saved my life," she said simply. "If you want me?"

"What do you think?"

"I think you want me," she laughed.

"So do I," he laughed back. "But we've got to get over this fainting."

"For the love of all! I'm not going to discuss that with one of your Doctors!"

"I just thought we could get round it the old fashioned way," he said innocently.

"Which is?" she gasped in confusion.

"Practise."

That night he shaved Enryn and showed her more about love than she had ever suspected. She stroked her exposed flesh, feeling clean, exposed and deliciously vulnerable as he drove her wild with his tongue, and realised that she would never be the same. Always would she shave to let him please her, and she would always feel special when he did it himself.

Ace finally mounted the delirious girl and drove her ever further towards heaven, until she collapsed in ecstasy.

He lay gently holding her, and realised that he could never let her go. He had found an equal in Enryn, a beautiful girl with courage and determination; someone he could understand and trust with his heart.

The blessing of The Lady had born fruit hundreds of light-years from Earth.

Enryn was sleeping with a huge grin when he went to work in the morning, she was still fainting after a life time's abstinence, but now beginning to feel safe and loved for the first time since childhood. Despite what he had thought of her at first Enryn was not a savage, she was as well educated as possible until her parents were killed ten years ago. Since then her only education was staying alive. And she passed that course with a straight A.

That evening Ace returned home to find it empty. Enryn was nowhere in sight. He asked around to find the Military Police had swept the barracks, rounding up all the girls missing from the mess. Ace wasn't the only Marine to take advantage of the situation, and the girls were just as good at taking advantage of the Marines.

They had been confined to the brig until a more secure means of controlling them could be found.

Ace high tailed it to the brig, but couldn't find Enryn anywhere. "They took her away a few minutes ago," a blond girl called out. "Left at the corridor."

He set off running to find a Marine Captain escorting her far from the Marine section of the Iowa. She was pulling back, franticly looking over her shoulder for him. Then she saw him running towards them and sighed in relief.

"Begging your pardon sir," he saluted "But she is with me."

The Captain made a show of looking for tattoos and brands, then checked a folder with her name, world of origin and photo on the cover, that was the only information they had on her, all the rest was blank. "Sorry Gunny, but she's been assigned to the Air Force officer's club."

"But she belongs to me," he insisted.

"In which way?"

"I saved her life, so by her own customs I own her. It's in the Regs Captain. We have to respect local traditions," he said hopefully.

Enryn looked optimistic for a second.

"That's pushing it Gunny," the Captain growled.

Her face fell once more as her hopes were dashed.

Ace insisted, "It was good enough for the Percivals."

"You are not a Percival!"

She was getting used to the idea of being dragged off and never seeing him again, and realised how much that would hurt.

"Look sir, there must be some way of solving this."

The Captain looked through Enryn's documents, "There is the sponsorship option," he mused. "It's brand new, as of two days ago."

"So what is it?" Ace snapped eagerly.

"You pay for her," the Captain laughed. "We dock ten percent from your pay till we return to Earth, to pay for her necessities. But it's a one time deal, only the one girl and you still pay if you break up. So you'd better be damn sure you really want her!"

Ace looked at Enryn, seeing her desperation to be with him, and sighed, "Where do I sign?"

"One other thing, this is so new a lot of officers will be reluctant to accept it. So guard your back Gunny."

"Yes sir!" Ace signed the papers and took control of Enryn's documents and her life.

"Is ten percent a lot?" she sighed. "And don't be giving me a lecture on mathematics. I mean, out of your salary."

"Put it this way, my Ex-wife is still claiming half of what I earn, so she's going to be paying five percent," he laughed. "And what can I spend on this tub?"

"I'll make it up to you," she promised. "You'll not regret it Ace."

"But changes will have to be made," he sighed looking at her smock with distaste. "You'll have to learn to fit in with the Marines."

"Does that mean saluting officers?"

"No, never. You're a civilian, never salute. I've got to get you fixed up, and that means the Quartermaster."

"Damn it to hell Gunny, I can't do it. I can't dress her. This is the Marines, not Rodeo Drive."

"Hell Bertram, I'm being docked ten percent for Enryn's necessities, see it your self. That means air, food and clothing."

"Not in my store it doesn't! I'd suggest you pass that up the chain of command, right to the Navy Department."

"And by the time I hear anything we'll be back on Earth. Look, all she needs is a couple of shirts, skirts, shoes and underwear."

"When was the last time you dressed a woman?" Bertram scoffed. "Bring her in Gunny, but it'll cost you."

"I've a bottle of scotch," Ace said sadly.

"That'll do for a start. Come here girl, strip off and raise your arms. Pretend I'm a doctor."

"And when was the last time you dressed a woman?" Ace scoffed.

"I'm a married man with three daughters older than Enryn, and I always measured them like this," Bertram grumbled. He ran the tape measure over Enryn, taking down her details, and filling in the clothing section on her documents.

"Let's see what we have. Underwear, four pairs, bra 32C, four, and they only come in olive. T-shirts, three, again olive. Shorts, three. Skirts, three. Shirts, three. Stockings black, six. Shoes, one pair, black. Trainers, one pair white. Towels, three. And if you want pantyhose, go see the flyboys!"

"Can you tailor the shirts? She needs to pass muster."

"You're pushing it! Okay Gunny, I'm not the sort to leave a job half done." Enryn started to dress, the panties she understood, but Ace had to help her with the bra; she jiggled it a little to find out what it was for. She pulled on the skirt and shirt and let Bertram take up the slack, running them under his sewing machine.

When they left Enryn was half way to looking like a Marine. The dark skirt was knee length, with the tan shirt over hanging. There was no insignia at all. But she walked with confidence for the first time since boarding the Iowa. "So, what do you think?" she sighed, brushing her long black hair straight down her back till it almost touched her skirt.

He pulled the shirt smooth, admiring the fit. "You'll pass Enryn," he gasped. "You'll pass just fine."

"Am I pretty enough like this?" she asked seriously.

"If you had any doubts you would not ask."

"Smart man," she chuckled.

In the morning Major Carline gave the inspection, and gasped in horror on seeing Enryn standing to attention to the right of Ace's door as he stood on the left.

"And what are you supposed to be?" he growled.

"Personal property, sir!" she snapped back.

"Gunny, what the hell are you doing?"

"Obeying regulations sir! I have sponsored Enryn, as requested, sir!"

"Not by me!" Carline rang command, to hear the regulations had indeed be changed. "I can't stop you flaunting your girlfriend, but I can make it difficult. I want her bulling those shoes until I can shave in them. No Gunny, not you. Her!"

"But she only has the one pair sir."

"Then bribe Bertram into giving you a second pair. But I want to see her standing here tomorrow in gleaming shoes." Major Carline stormed away to take his displeasure out on lower ranking Marines.

"I think he likes you," Ace laughed.

"But he was horrible," she gasped.

"Exactly, if he'd have been polite I'd have started to worry."

On meeting Enryn and learning the score about the sponsorship deal, Sal agreed to include Ceri, even though Lady Gyor had already agreed to the girl serving the Marine. Gyor could say what she liked, but she wasn't a Marine.

In the morning Enryn and Ceri stood to attention and let Major Carline shout at them, but both had highly bulled shoes.

Two days later another of the privates sponsored a slave from the mess, and by the end of the month all the platoon had a girl living with them. But while they had been slaves, and had little idea of the life they were joining, they were very good at obeying orders.

Enryn and Ceri had to constantly show them the ropes, even as Ace and Sal were teaching them.

It was another month before Major Carline gave up trying to force them to quit, and found another way to annoy them. He instructed Ace to teach them drill. And after two hours of marching around the Iowa, they started PE.

Enryn flopped into bed with every muscle in her body on fire, and for a week Ace could hardly touch her. There was no easy way to do it, he had to follow the manual, even if it left all the girls in agony.

Carline recommended that as he could not be expected to remember all their names they should have name tags sewn on their shirts, above their sponsors' names. And so Enryn Macintyre was soon sewn on left breast. It matched all her paper work, which read: Name Enryn, Sponsor, Macintyre. She had never had a surname.

The slaves were in a similar situation, and if Ceri did have two names she wasn't telling.

The drill increased in severity every day, as did the physical fitness, and the girls were in constant agony as they jogged around the endless corridors. They met Lady Gyor coming the other way and one of the girls begged for mercy.

Gyor ignored her but came around that night with a potion bottle for each girl, to promote sleep and stamina. She met Enryn for the first time with surprise and a knowing smile. The love Ace showed the aching girl was something she understood all too well, but that Enryn loved him back through her pain was a surprise.

Enryn took one teaspoon full of the tonic and slept like a log, awaking refreshed and ready to go. From then on the exercise became bearable, if still exhausting.

It was two months later that Major Carline gave up torturing the girls and started teaching them to be Marines. And so the Women's Auxiliary was born. Enryn was promoted to Cadet Sergeant, the job she had been doing all along, and Ceri to Corporal.

Their uniform selection soon grew to include MARPAT combat dress, the Marines were wearing woodland camouflage and the WA desert.

Then the training got serious.

Ace showed Enryn to the firing range, introducing her to the standard Marine Replicator carbine. He held out the small crystal carbine, pointing out the lack of sights, magazine and ejection port. "Just hold the pistol grip and think what you want to shoot, then select your ammunition and you're ready to roll."

She fired one shot down the range, hitting the target without even trying. "You can't miss," she gasped.

"I'll show you the rest later." One wall held a display of bullets, from a point twenty two long rifle, various pistol cartridges, a 5.56mm, and a 7.62mm, but at the end was a full size point fifty round, that was nearly five and a half inches long. "That is what you were firing."

"But you could barely fit one of those monsters in the carbine," she gasped. "I understand what you said about replicating ammunition, a bit, but that's crazy!"

Ace took the point fifty round down and pulled the bullet from the casing, pouring the propellant into his palm, alongside the bullet. "Forget the brass, we don't need it. All we do need is the bullet and powder, and that we can replicate ten times a second. You saw me use a carbine to save your life so you know it works."

"I'm still living, I think. Sometimes the Iowa seems like a dream, and I begin to wonder if I'm really dieing of fever and dreaming all of this."

"I'll have to remind you tonight that you're still alive," he chuckled. "Right, the more advanced the round the longer it takes to replicate, so you can only fire a self guiding sniper bullet once a minute. And that can seem an eternity in combat."

"Grenades?"

"About one a second," he laughed.

"What else can you replicate?" she gasped.

"Beside food, air and water? You know the Iowa?"

Enryn gasped in shock, "You replicated the entire ship!"

"Well, if we'd built her it could have taken twenty years," he chuckled. "The thing is, we couldn't have built her at all. The technology, like the carbines, is way beyond us."

"Then who?"

"I'll introduce you to Eileen Percival sometime, she's the genius who figured out how to turn a borrowed replicator meant for food, into the Uber replicator that can create mile long ships out of nothing. Well, nothing and a massive fusion power plant. Funny thing is, everyone keeps telling her it's impossible to mix and match in a replicator. You can't decide what you want to have and what you want to leave, as you mix a dozen different kinds of ship into something like the Iowa. She always agrees with them, and does it anyway."

"My kind of girl," Enryn laughed.

He swapped the Carbine for a training version, firing bullet shaped sand bags. "There's a room next door with ten targets, I want you to shoot them all."

She couldn't think of any problem and walked through the door to see a variety of terrain from urban to jungle. She took one step over the boundary and was shot in the left breast, she spun and was shot in the right buttock, and then again in the back. She didn't even see the snipers.

Enryn stepped back from the room, rubbing her bruises. "Okay, what did I do wrong, besides dieing?"

"It wasn't a fair test, they knew you were coming. But war is not a sport for gentlemen. I'll show you how to avoid getting shot, and tomorrow you can show the WA. Enryn, I'm not intending to take any of you into combat, you'll be giving support, nothing more. But shit happens."

"You've taken a bunch of terrified slaves and made them Marines, so don't underestimate the WA. I survived on my own for ten years, hunting for food and being hunted to feed the Aelder. And I didn't have your training or equipment."

"I know, that's one of the reasons I fell in love with you."

"You did?" she gasped in shock, it was the first time he admitted it.

"When I first saw you I thought you were a savage, you certainly looked the part, I never expected you to have a brain, a good one at that."

She glanced down to see her name tag, Enryn Macintyre, "I like this name Ace."

He looked hard into her grey eyes and saw her smiling, "So do I."

"What will happen when we go back to Earth?"

"Then my sponsorship ends," he sighed.

"Can I keep the name?"

"I think I'd like that."

The Iowa continued across the galaxy, stopping to sample empty worlds for possible future colonies. There were many habited worlds, but most were living in low tech societies somewhere between hunter gathers and the middle ages. These were of no concern to Earth and the Iowa past on by. The majority of the aliens were humanoid, with different skin shades and features, but still having two arms and legs, two eyes and ears, one mouth and a nose.

But, apart from Enryn and her few kin, they had found no race identical to humans. The refugees from Yag-Urth didn't count, they were from a different dimension. All she could say was that her ancestors crash landed on Tharsius thousands of years ago, and had to bury their ship to escape the hundred and twenty year night. Who they were and where they were from had been lost in the constant struggle for survival. While her parents had educated her well, she had never seen the ship and had no idea what it was like.

The Iowa swept past a silent world, seeing the ruins of a once proud civilisation, with cities and landing fields across the globe, but all life had been swept from the planet leaving it a ball of sterile dust. The worst thing was it seemed to have happened within twenty years. And there was not the slightest hint as to what had murdered the world.

They left the planet behind in confusion and ever mounting worry.

Lady Gyor explained more about galactic history to Ace and Enryn, mentioning the terrible wars fought at the end of the First Age, and how ships damaged in combat were strewn across space, looking for worlds that could support them. And the survivors had had to adapt and mutate over millions of years, so that many of the races that looked so different could have common ancestors, and perhaps be able to interbreed.

Enryn had never doubted her ability to have children with Ace, until now. They looked so similar but came from opposite ends of the galaxy, so could they ever have children?

Gyor was happy to meet Enryn again, and thought they deserved each other; she invited them to the next ball in the Percival section, and caused Enryn to panic.

She could take being shouted at by drill instructors, being hunted across Tharsius, and being chased by a stampede. But she had no idea about being put on display for the officers of the Iowa.

Ace tried to bribe Bertram with a bottle of Scotch for something to make into a dress, but that was one thing not stocked by the Marines.

Sal helped out with a bolt of black material that she had found by accident, and helped Enryn sew a short dress with a halter neck. And then fixed her long black hair up into a style that would reveal Enryn's willowy neck, then fixed her face with the first makeup she had ever used.

When Ace slipped on his dress uniform and met Enryn at Sal's quarters, he hardly recognised his lover.

Enryn had gone from beautiful to stunning.

They linked arms and entered the Percival ball, mixing with the most powerful people on the Iowa. Ace was used to going with the flow, working alongside Jarheads in the day and officers at night.

But Enryn was nervous, very nervous, and terrified of embarrassing Ace before the entire ship.

A woman walked up, wearing an immaculate gown and a few bits of jewellery, her lush brown hair shone as she walked across the ballroom floor. She looked about thirty, with a handsome face and natural grace. "You must be Enryn, Gyor told me all about you. You can call me June."

"Thank you June," Enryn gasped. "I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do here. This is my first ball."

"They can be a bit different from the Marine mess," June laughed.

Enryn pulled back in shock, thinking she was being insulted.

"Don't fret child," June said gently. "I used to be a Marine myself, so I understand what you are going through."

A tall girl with long black hair and grey eyes walked up carrying three glasses of Champaign. "So this is the Marine," she said gently. "And I though I was having it rough when you accepted me."

"This is Essia," June introduced the girl. "One of your kin."

"Tharsius?" Enryn gasped.

Essia nodded. "There are a few of us in the family, and now we all call ourselves Percivals."

"June Percival," Enryn gasped.

"You were expecting me to look older," she laughed. "One of the benefits of having three Mages in the family. I've lost about fifteen years recently."

Essia continued, "But we were all caught and rescued, you are the only one we know who managed to stay free."

"That was far from easy. I use Enryn Macintyre with pride now, and hope to keep the name," she insisted.

"You gave yourself to the man who saved you?" Essia asked.

"I gave myself to the man I love," Enryn insisted.

"You know dear," June said to Essia, "I'm starting to like this one."

Gyor walked up with the grace of a ballerina, "Is that all you could find to wear?"

"You try getting a dress in the Marine Quartermasters? And I don't yet rate a Marine evening dress uniform," Enryn replied sadly.

"Don't bother with the Dress uniform," June laughed, "they itch in all the wrong places."

Gyor laughed, "This looks like blackout material, I'm sure we can do better." She touched Enryn's dress and closed her eyes, then pulled back to sip her drink.

Enryn looked down in surprise, her dress was now of a lush black velvet and sprinkled with lights.

"Diamonds?" June guessed.

"No, stars," Gyor replied and moved on.

"Just like her daughter," June laughed, "a real show off."

"I was in the infirmary having a few old wounds patched up when I saw Ace and lady Gyor chatting there. I though they had something between them."

"They have," June laughed, "mutual respect and friendship. But nothing more. Let me guess, you were looking for Gunny and found him talking to another woman, so you ran off crying and sulked for a week?"

"How did you know?" Enryn gasped.

"I'm a woman, and I've been there myself," June chuckled. "We were having a little war in a place called Bosnia, Bob was pilot in the Navy, and I a Jarhead. He got shot down and I got shot up rescuing him. We spent three months in the same hospital, arguing all the time. No matter where one of us went the other was always waiting in a bad mood. For two months we argued and fought, over nothing and everything. Then I saw him talking to a woman. I knew she was a doctor. But he was talking to her without me. I ran off crying and hid in my room for two weeks. It was only when Bob couldn't find me that he started to miss me."

"Have I to guess what happened?"

"The usual," June sighed, "we were married on leaving the hospital, before either the Marines or Navy found out. They don't like Lieutenant Commanders marrying a Private first class. Does this sound sane?"

"I admit to being nothing like as bad, but Ace did save my life, so I suppose that might have lowered my resistance," Enryn laughed.

"Don't fret, Gyor needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle, she's totally besotted by her slave."

"Slave!" Essia laughed. "I've never seen En-eta wearing chains, only a big grin."

"Then they are together," Enryn gasped.

June sighed, "And probably will be for the next hundred thousand years. They are both immortal, and how can anyone compete with that? Come on Enryn, I want to show you something."

They moved through the crowd, collecting fresh drinks from a maid with very short red hair, and walked into a private office. June called up the computer and opened the Percival Base file, showing the current base and a projection over the next ten years. "The Base is going to grow like mad, and so are the married quarters. Enryn, by the time this cruise is over you could be entitled to quite a nice home."

The monitor lit up with a dozen kinds of houses that Enryn could hardly believe were real, most had swimming-pools.

"With Ace being docked for sponsoring me, and his Ex-wife still taking half his salary, I don't think we could afford to live there."

June laughed, "Don't tell anyone, this is strictly need to know, and the men don't need to know. From the moment Gunny signed your papers his Ex-wife was cut off completely, because you are now his only dependent. I wrote the contract myself, so I should know. Next, the sponsorship is a polite way to encourage the crew to fall in love and get those pesky slaves out of my hair. Two hundred living with the crew is better than two hundred running riot! And the docking is all being saved for when we return to Earth. I've yet to meet a Marine who can save up to get married."

"You're match making?" Enryn gasped.

"I had some thought to having a mass wedding in the base Cathedral," June sighed, pointing to it on the monitor. "It makes sense to have two hundred weddings at the same time, but I doubt I can fix that without Gyor's help."

"Also," Essia laughed, "you are being paid as a recruit, and if you pass out you'll be getting the full Marine salary."

"And if you stay on in the Marines the married quarters are very affordable, when you consider that Gyor has already put a deposit down on a house for saving her life. Whatever you and Gunny decide, you will get to pick your own home, on the Base or not."

"Why are you doing this?" Enryn gasped.

"Gunny is a very useful man, and he might be thinking of retiring, but that would be a real waste of talent. And you too young lady, are you enjoying the life?"

"Most of it, if they'd just realise that I know what I'm doing and don't need shouting at," Enryn sighed.

They moved back into the ball, mixing with the officers and family. The red headed maid was in constant attendance to June, serving them devotedly. John, Isralla and their girl Jina came to chat for a few minutes, and Enryn realised that Jina also came from Tharsius, and was devoted to the couple who saved her life.

Then the couple Darko and Karin moved in, their daughter came along with the short blond girl who served them, and was pushing a wheelchair.

Enryn looked in shock at the child in the wheelchair, never expecting to see anything like her.

June sighed, "They promised Birgit a sister and let her choose who she wanted, this was on Yag-Urth during the invasion. Birgit is a very bright girl who lived through a few really bad times before being adopted, and so she chose the saddest girl she could find."

Enryn saw a tiny blond waif who could hardly be six, she sat in the wheelchair held in by straps, the right side of her face mutilated by fire. One arm had been broken and reset twisted out of shape and both legs had been cut off below the knees.

"A beggar child," June sighed. "Bought from birth and mutilated to get the greatest pity, and money. They found her in the street dragging herself along by her good arm in terror, about to be eaten by a monster."

"Are you sure saving her was a good idea?" Enryn gasped in horror. "Will she thank them?"

"Karin is quite a good medic and trying to rebuild the child, we are hoping for a full recovery, even regrowing her legs."

Essia insisted, "And if that doesn't work we'll let Gyor loose on the child."

"There's a rift growing between them over the child. Karin wants to heal the kid through science, and Gyor wants to cheat."

"June, with that child, I'd cheat," Enryn sighed. "Yes, I'd cheat big time!"

Ace managed to break away from his superiors to teach Enryn to dance, she had practiced in their quarters but this was the first time she had done it for real. They glided around the floor, without too many mishaps, and she felt the whole crowd watching them. "Are they staring at me or you?" she whispered.

"At both of us," he laughed. "My dear girl, you fit in just fine. I'm sure they are all jealous of me."

"But they nearly all have lovely partners, who can dance far better than me," she sighed.

"But not one who is a Marine. I had a word with my Commander, about the lack of Dress uniforms for female enlisted personnel. And he agreed to waiver the custom in your favour on the Iowa, I think he likes your dress."

"You can thank lady Gyor, she tweaked it up a bit."

"So what are the lights?"

"She said they were stars. But I've no idea what she meant by that."

Ace looked closely at her neckline, to see tiny sparks of a hundred sizes and colours twinkling in the black velvet. He gasped in shock, "They are stars!"

"I think you impressed her," she said with hidden meaning.

"Enryn, with what I saw her do on Yag-Urth, she terrifies me. That lady is a nuke walking round in a ball gown! She took on an entire army virtually single handed, and won! But the worst thing was, she knew she was going to win. It was just a chore to her, like taking out the garbage, she never had any doubts at all!"

"Arrogance or confidence?"

"With Gyor, I don't think there's a difference!"

They left the floor heading toward the Percivals when the alarm sounded with heart stopping fear. The crowd broke up with everyone rushing to their duty stations throughout the vast ship.

"No time to change, we have to make it to Turret One," Ace gasped, pulling Enryn through the door. "The rest of the Platoon will meet us there."

"The WA as well?"

"I think they'll beat their partners to it," he laughed.

"Then let go my hand, so I can run faster."

Turret One was on the upper hull at the very front of the Iowa, the one most likely to be attacked, and so it was manned by marines. But to call it a turret was misleading, for it held more firepower than most ships. The teardrop shaped turret was huge, with a twenty meter wide plasma cannon and five coaxially mounted gauss cannons in the nose, and defence turrets of her own.

Ace and Enryn made it to their battle station, opening the thick armoured portal and rushing through meters of yet more armour deep in to the horseshoe shaped control centre; the front section held the controls for the main weapons and was surrounded by a ring of defence consoles. Ace slipped into the command seat, as Enryn looked on in awe at the controls. "You taught me to fire a carbine love, but nothing like this!" she gasped on seeing monitor views of the stupendous weapons now under her partner's control.

"Most of it is automated, it virtually runs its self, but needs someone to tell it what to do. You'll be fine Enryn."

She opened the rear hatch to see a cramped accommodation module for forty. "Are we supposed to live here, or what?" she gasped.

"Under certain circumstances, yes."

Ace opened up communications with Control, receiving data from the Iowa's extensive battle-net of sensors. "Unknown fleet on intercept course," he called out. "ETA five minutes."

"Look, tell me what to do, anything that doesn't include making coffee."

"I've got the weapons on line, and the others will man the defence turrets, when they get here. Take over one of the Gauss cannons, treat it like a carbine, select your ammo and fire it at nearly the speed of light."

"And what does that do?" she gasped. "You never got round to teaching me space combat."

"It makes a big bang!"

"That I understand."

The Platoon and WA rushed on board as the alien fleet swept in to engage. Ace sealed up the turret going over to on board life support, and swept space with his weapons. A ring of weapon stations surrounded most of the control centre, and was now manned by marines controlling the defence turrets that dotted Turret One's graceful hull, the WA stood behind their partners, watching what they did. Sal slipped into a station next to Ace as Ceri stood behind her, "Emergency drives warming up."

The first alien ship swept by the Iowa, unleashing a torrent of fire that splashed against her shields in futility.

"We have been cleared to engage," Ace called out. "All attempts at peaceful communication has been rejected. The Iowa is now at war!"

"Well about time," Enryn sighed as she swung her targeting after the hostile that had tried to kill her home. Using the computers she selected a armour piercing slug and fed it into the Gauss cannon, swinging it after the target and fired. Nothing seemed to happen, there was no explosion firing the slug, but it vanished from the Gauss cannon breach in an instant. Then she looked up to see the target ripped in two as the AP slug tore through the hull.

Ace swung the Plasma cannon to target a capital ship, and fired only to see his shot absorbed by the shields. He fired again and again, and the shields continued to hold as the ship fire broadsides at the Iowa. "Enryn, stop playing with the fighters, I need you to break through the shields. Follow my targeting and see what damage you can do."

"Aye sir," she snapped and fired a burst of AP slugs into the alien shields. The slugs hit the shields one every second at nearly the speed of light, exploding in blinding flashes of energy that almost overloaded view plates.

The alien ship tried to turn away as her shields began to fail, and Ace finished her off with a twenty meter ball of blue plasma that tore into her hull, exploding throughout the ship.

Yet more fighters swept the Iowa, as the Marines opened up with the defence turrets. A dozen exploded into balls of flame.

Sal called out, "Main fleet is beginning to engage, we're out numbered fifty to one."

"So there's enough targets for us all," Ace snapped.

The Iowa was heading out of the system, aiming for deep space, but the alien fleet kept getting in the way, forcing her to slow and bank away. They didn't want her to leave their system, they wanted to take her, dead or alive. Any ship that got in the Iowa's way was soon ripped apart by her vast hull weapons, but the hostiles knew her zone of fire and kept up the pressure without putting themselves at risk. As dozens of ships targeted the turrets.

Twenty ships soon bracketed them, firing broadsides as the Iowa swung her turrets from ship to ship, crippling them.

"Orders to disengage," Sal called out. "We have to let the Iowa get away."

"I was afraid of that," Ace snapped. "Enryn, do you see that big red button?"

"The one that says: 'Do not push, under pain of death'?"

"That's the one."

So she pushed it home. Nothing happened, for seconds nothing happened. And then there was a loud clang from below the turret, and they started floating free of the Iowa.

"For the love of all!" Enryn gasped. "What's happening?"

"Who said a turret has to be built onto a ship? Why not make them all little ships?"

Fourteen turrets peeled away from the Iowa, swinging about and targeting the aliens preventing her escape. Each was a ship in her own right with the power of a Cruiser, and independent shields powered huge fusion reactors.

The Iowa was not just one ship but a fleet of fifteen.

Sal took over the piloting, swinging them to attack the ships in the Iowa's way, and the Gauss cannons wrote bloody vengeance on their hulls. Ace fired his plasma cannon time and again, crippling ship after ship until the Iowa slipped through the encirclement, blasting from the system and into hyperspace.

With the Iowa gone the aliens swung after the turrets in anger, and even their shields could not last forever.

"So what now?" Enryn sighed. "Are we dead?"

"We have very good weapons and shields," Ace pointed out. "Also limited manoeuvring drives and a small FTL module. So if we can make it to the Iowa we'll be all right."

"If we can make it through the fleet," she pointed out.

"Yes, there is that."

The fourteen turrets swung as one after the Iowa, racing towards light speed, targeted by thirty ships. Most made it but the final three were receiving the alien's combined firepower, shields began to fail leaving their hulls exposed.

"Sal, turn around, we have to cover their escape," Ace snapped.

Turret One turned back to attack the fleet on her own as her damaged sister Turrets fled the battle, vanishing from detection range within seconds.

Sal kept her course through the fleet, as every weapon poured death into the aliens, and her shields started to glow ever brighter.

"I hate it when they go white," Ace grumbled.

"Why's that?" Enryn gasped as she tore a destroyer in two.

"Because that's when they start to fail and you've about five seconds to live."

Sal floored the Turret, slipping through the fleet like an eel, as every ship tried to fire at her, only to hit their own fleet in the crowded battle.

"I've an idea," Enryn sighed. "Do you see that capital ship ahead? The one that looks like a flagship? And the vehicle bay that's now empty?"

"You're insane," Sal gasped in horror. "But I like it!"

"Like what?" Ace gasped, and then saw the vast ship before him. And the immense docking cradle that could have taken a battleship. "Oh god no."

Sal either didn't hear him or chose not to. She slammed Turret One to a full stop and again into reverse, backing into the docking cradle and deep inside the Flagship; tearing through decks and compartments until she ground to a halt.

But her main weapons were still pointing from the rear of the vast ship, still firing at any ship foolish enough to get within her arc of fire.

Fighters and Corvettes swung to attack the docking bay, only to be blown from reality. Then the heavier ships started to fire, ripping into the alien ship.

The battle was a stale mate until the Flagship's Admiral decided that he didn't want to become a martyr, and floored his faster than light drive.

They vanished across space, reappearing hours later in deep space far from anywhere. The battle was over.

An alien peered fearfully from ahead, looking down Turret One's six vast cannons, and held up both pairs of arms, then moved forward on six legs, trying to convey peaceful intentions.

Ace shut the main weapons down, all he had to shoot at was one living being. He could do that with a Glock.

Soon a hundred alien machines were at work dragging Turret One from the Flagship's docking bay and into space.

Sal took Turret One floating before the vast ship, and brought her nose down in a nod of thanks to the Admiral, and then banked away engaging her drives on full power; expecting to be shot in the back at any second.

But the ships parted in peace through exhaustion. No attempt at communication had been made by either side, or even a close look at each other. The aliens looked half insect and half reptile, but were far beyond anything ever dreamt off. Why they attacked, or what they wanted would never be known.

Sal engaged the Hyper Drive and they vanished into FTL.

Ace and Enryn finally had a chance to strip off their dress gear, until he was down to T-shirt and shorts, and she managed to scrounge the same from the WA. They hung their gear up carefully, both wondering if they would ever get the chance to wear them again.

"So, where's the Iowa?" Enryn asked as soon as they returned to reality.

"We should have locked onto them by now," Ace agreed.

"Either we're still out of range," Sal mused, "or the FTL drive is on the frizz."

"Okay," Ace sighed, "bad news or good news?"

"I'll take the bad," Enryn sighed, "and work up."

"With the WA we're far over manned, so it's going to get cosy in here. But the good is that we can replicate all the air and food we need."

"For how long?" Enryn sighed.

"Until we find the Iowa, or start a colony of our own."

"Wouldn't that be fun," Sal moaned, "a colony full of little Marines?"

Enryn chuckled, "Apart from you and Ceri, we are evenly matched. I don't suppose you two err..."

"No we do not!" Sal gasped in outrage. "I'm not a lesbian and want to marry and have a family of my own some day!"

"I'm not gay either," Ceri hastened to say.

"Then you could always become second wives or spinsters," Enryn whispered loudly.

"Miss Sal," Ceri gasped, "I'm not ready for that either!"

Sal really looked at the girl she bunked with for the first time, seeing her in a new light. "Gay relationships are not condoned by the Marine Corps."

"June Percival used to be a Marine, and a good one," Ace laughed, "but what do you think she does with her two girls, play Pattacake?"

"She shares them openly with her husband Bob," Enryn chuckled. "No sneaking around at night, no shame or hypocrisy, just an open loving relationship, with plenty of room for two more."

"Must be great to be rich," Sal gasped.

"Rich?" Enryn laughed. "When this started the Percivals were almost paupers, June had to take in sewing to pay the mortgage, and they were in constant danger of losing the family home."

"And then John met Isralla while drowning in a swamp, both of them, and they became heroes and learnt how to replicate starships."

"They got where they are by hard work, good luck and a lot of danger!" Enryn insisted. "I think they've earned the right to be a little eccentric, but, unlike most, they don't hide it. I met them all tonight. Reda is a slave, a real one from Yag-Urth, yes Ceri, just like you, but she loves her masters, totally devoted to them both. But Essia is like me, and gives her love as one free person to another, without shame."

"There were just five Percivals when this started," Ace pointed out, "Grandfather Jack was in a wheelchair, June and Bob, then their children John and Eileen. And Eileen was only sixteen had had never been to war, unlike the rest of them. Jack was murdered protecting three girls they saved and adopted. And June had a baby the same night and christened him Jack after her father. But by now that old house is packed with love. As well as the girls they saved from Tharsius, and who wanted to continue serving them, they have five adopted children, and a few more living with their extended family. As well as Gyor and her kids Isralla and Ison."

Enryn gasped, "And they still found time to build fleets of starships and save Earth on at least three occasions."

Sal sighed, "Enryn, are you sure that when someone saves your life, there isn't a genetic flaw that makes you fall in love with them?"

"I know the difference between gratitude and love."

"Do you? I'm waiting to see what happens the next time someone saves your life."

Turret One continued to make short hops across reality, of just a few light years to avoid burning the drive out, hoping to detect the Iowa, but without any luck. Space was too big for a chance encounter, and the Turret's sensors were meant for battle not tourism.

Weeks of living cheek by jowl in a tin can that would have been crowded with just the male Rifle Platoon was beginning to take its toll. The WA were now faring better than the men, being used to living in cages.

The accommodation section was but a tiny part of the vast turret, with bunks that now always slept two to a mattress. Most of the turret was sealed off from the Marines, with deadly energy leaking from the weapons and drives, and serviced by maintenance-bots. A Lander and her five vehicles were housed in the rear hanger. The only place for couples to find some privacy was in the small med bay that was little more than an examination bed and a locker full of body bags. The usual warning sign of occupancy was a towel hung over the lock, and it could take days to book a slot in advance.

Ace was now struggling to control over sixty highly sexed Marines, and had to include himself and Enryn among them. All he could do was keep them busy, very busy.

He forced the training for the WA into top gear, teaching them all he could in as short a time as possible. The book had been thrown out of the window. Now it was kill or be killed.

All the girls learnt their partner's skills, and everything else they could. Even the Lander was put in training mode and all the girls taught to fly the semi automated shuttle.

Physical fitness training went back to the bad old days for all the Marines, as Ace drove them all with single minded determination to survive. Unarmed combat was taken beyond the usual rough and tumble to the next level with Ace and Enryn leaving bruises as they fought.

By the time they flopped into bed they were either too tired, or in too much pain, to make love. Not that it stopped them.

A distant signal drew them on from across space, enticing and beguiling it caught their curiosity with a grip of steel.

Sal called out, "I'm picking up some kind of homing beacon."

"We might as well find out where it's coming from," Ace sighed.

"Intercept course set, ETA three weeks."

The ship was old and vast as Turret One homed in on the distress beacon with insatiable curiosity, the hull looked to have been exposed to space for decades at least, but still the call enticed them to their doom.

"And I thought the Uber was ugly," Ace sighed.

"I'd make her half a million tons," Sal guessed. "And you're right, she is ugly."

A commanding voice laughed at them, "You will surrender, we have need for such as you."

"Battle stations," Ace called out. "Team one to man all weapons, team two on standby."

A beam lashed across space clipping Turret One just before the shields were raised, leaving a hundred yard gash in the armour.

"Enryn, target that turret."

She aimed at the turret that was still firing only to see her gauss slug explode against shields with a blinding flash of light leaving no damage. Again she fired and again, and the shields grew ever stronger.

Ace opened up with the plasma cannon, hitting the shields a dozen times, without causing any damage. Then the alien ship struck back with a whiplash of energy that ripped away Turret One's shields in a split second of horror.

"One more like that and we're toast," Sal snapped.

Enryn and the other gunners continued to fire until the ship repeated the whiplash, tearing through the Turret's armour with ease.

"We're getting our butts kicked," Ace gasped. "Sal, new plan, see if you can dock with her, I want to board that mother fucker."

"Aye Gunny." Sal dove for the vast ship, then slowed to a stall as Ace and the Rifle Platoon dressed in space armour. She drove the Turret against the ancient hull as Ace led the assault. Handing over to Ceri, Sal chased after her platoon diving through space into an open vehicle bay.

Enryn could only watch her lover leaving without a word, her duty was to the girls so she could not break down sobbing. No matter how much she wanted to. All along she'd had a terrible feeling that she would never see Ace again.

The Platoon encountered an alien menace as they floated across space, feeling a sickening presence that almost made them want to throw up in their suits; there was something on the alien ship that left them in dread before they even saw it.

Enryn forced herself to keep calm and professional, as Ace led his men into what she knew would be a trap.

They left the vehicle bay entering a pressurerised section of the ship, and opened their helmets, gasping the alien air with apprehension.

Everything was dark and smelt of rotting lubricant, as loading chains swept to and fro in the half light with tiny screams. They dodged through the ship by the numbers, providing covering fire against the empty darkness and shocking sounds, but found nothing to shoot as shadows converged around them leaving their hearts pounding with fear.

In the turret the WA could follow their lovers' progress by their helmet cams, seeing the progress in flashes from camera to camera. Enryn kept wanting to scream for them to run for their lives, that they were being trapped, but knew better, the Marines were too proud to turn and run. With their weapons, armour and training they could not conceive of a foe powerful enough to defeat them.

Pride cometh before the fall.

Ace turned a corner into a more brightly lit section of the ship and saw twenty men wearing golden collars waiting for them. They were tall and grey, wearing black clothing and supercilious grins. "What kept you?" the leader laughed. "We were growing bored." He raised a pistol and fired at Ace, the beam striking his armour and burning deeply into the ceramic. The Marines opened up with their carbines, mowing through the aliens, but nothing happened. The point fifties did no damage at all to the men who didn't even wear armour.

"Know this, we are the Warriors of the Lord Karnish, and we own you! Everything you own and everything you are now belongs to My Lord." The leader fired again and the Marines returned with pin point accuracy, and no effect. The men stood laughing at the astonished Marines.

From behind the men a ball of energy floated in the air, containing a bloated body that was laughing with childish glee.

The Marines fired in desperation, then an explosion wracked the ambush and the firing stopped.

All Enryn could hear was shots fired by the Warriors and screams from the Marines.

Then Ace stopped reporting as an unstoppable force moved in to take the Turret, twenty men walked towards the Woman's Auxiliary, over the bodies of the Marines.

Ceri gasped, "You're in charge now Sergeant Enryn. Tell us what to do."

"We can't fight them, that I'm sure of," she sighed. "Can't run, and won't surrender." Then she started to grin, and did the only thing she could think of and selected the Trojan option. "We need to find out what we're facing, and that means going under cover. Way undercover! Listen up ladies, this is what we're going to do, and you are not going to like it. But remember one thing, you are Marines first of all!"

The force of Warriors found a cage full of bound women crying for mercy.

Enryn struggled in her bonds, looking up fearfully at her new masters, begging, "Please free us sir, those horrible men raided our ship and kidnapped us. We're not slaves."

"You are now," the leader laughed. "This is the fourth ship like this we've taken this month, but the first one full of girls."

Turret One was flown to a planet and landed next to three more damaged Turrets.

The world look barren, as though it had been swept clean of life a few hundred years ago, and only scrubland and small animals had survived. Only one town stood in the empty world, next to a landing field full of rusting, derelict ships.

Stripped naked, and with wrists bound behind their backs, the WA were marched from the turret and passed a row of ship that looked abandoned and half stripped down. Expensive drives and electronics had been removed, and weeds were growing over their landing struts, while dust and lichen covered their hulls.

The women were dragged fearfully to a town that looked half Mediterranean, it was covered with ceramic tiles that looked to have been stripped off ships. Dozens of other pieces of recycled ships blended with the low buildings, with engine cowlings now serving as workshops, and atmospheric control veins propped up before many buildings to provide shade for the lounging mechanics and shopkeepers. Some of the men were forced to work in the mid day heat wearing chains on their legs.

Parts of ships were being stripped down for recycling, the owners and passengers held to ransom, if rich, put to work if talented, or slain if not.

A hundred Warriors strode around the town with menacing pride, with grey skin and mousy hair, black jumpsuits and holstered energy pistols; they were a different breed from the mixed lot of civilians who seemed to have been taken off captured ships. It was as if anyone pirated had the option of working to fit in with the society, or dieing.

A few patrols of humanoid guards kept the slaves under control, armed with slug throwing pistols that could never threaten the Elite Warriors.

There were only a few thousand people and hundreds of girls who drifted around without hope, dressed in bits of gauze or a few chains. Enryn saw one woman bustling past using a portable computer and ordering someone on her communicator what to do, as if the was the head of a Company, while wearing a few bits of white silk and gilded chains. It was clear that the job she had once done as a free woman she was now doing as a slave, a few long white scars on her back explained why she was complying.

The WA were pulled back into slavery, guarded by beasts with whips and guns they were chained on a plinth in the market and there they were sold to the highest bidder as men and a few women called out to buy them. To most of the woman it had happened before, more than once, but a few had never been treated this way and Ceri looked down in horror as an old man started to caress her thighs. Her look of utter disgust aroused the rich man even more.

Enryn stood calmly in her chains, looking around the town and ignoring her plight, she would do whatever she had to for Ace. She was a Marine, and that pride was all she had to hide behind.

She saw a few of her friends pulled off sobbing, then Ceri being sold to a rich man, and felt her chain pulled sharply.

Looking down from the dais Enryn saw the brute with the most money counting the price of her life, and was privately insulted at the amount. He was holding a pale girl by a leash on her neck as she stood uncomplainingly with a heavy pack of shopping strapped to her back. The girl was alien, with white skin and hair, and looked small and fragile but walked with feline grace.

With the sale completed Enryn was dragged to her master's home, along with the pale girl who was totally naked apart from the bag of shopping she was bound to. The alien girl was never talked to or told what to or where to go, instead she was directed by sharp tugs on her leash.

After a few more purchases Enryn was dragged to the beast's home, weary and sickened. Dressed in nothing but a few chains Enryn was pulled through the door to see two more brutes waiting for her with savage leers. She assessed the three in an instant, they were deckhands from a stolen ship who had worked hard to fit into the pirate town, on learning some of the benefits they could earn, like slavegirls.

Either this was a way of bonding with their peers, or they were just creeps who couldn't get a date in a brothel.

The pale girl had her pack removed and was thrown to her knees and forced to please the men while Enryn was hung from the ceiling.

She hung swaying for a couple of hours as they screwed the alien girl and occasionally beat her with a cane. But Enryn was new and they wanted to train her right, she took it with patience. Her time would come.

Given the situation a bit of patience and gentleness could have resulted in a captured girl being more compliant, given her options she might even bond with her master- eventually. But the brutes weren't interested in bonding with their slaves, just breaking their spirits.

The men forced the alien girl to cook for them, and had a few drinks, watching Enryn swaying as they discussed what they were going to do to her. All the comments were on the same basic theme, how to break her spirit without destroying her body. Most were crudely put, basic in the extreme, and not all were physically possible.

The men were beneath her notice and so she ignored it, knowing they would not live long enough to try any of them.

She was pulled down and for a second had her hands freed while they attempted to bind her to the bed. The response was instinctive and deadly.

Enryn lashed out with her open palm and the first man died with his nose crushed into his brain.

She kicked the next hard and destroyed his groin, and as he stumbled to the floor in agony slipped behind him, put her hands under his chin, and broke his neck with her knee.

The last man drew a knife so she grabbed his wrist and twisted the knife free, took it off him and returned it point first into his heart.

The whole fight took three seconds until she stood over the bodies.

The pale girl panicked and tried to run. Enryn grabbed her and considered what she should do to the fragile girl, then smiled and refastened her bonds, leaving her laying on the bed where the Marine was to have been raped. The kid was not to blame and could prove useful, if she stopped panicking. "Name?" she asked, but the kid shook her head sadly. Looking closer Enryn thought the girl looked older than she first thought, but was smaller and more delicate than a human.

She looked around the house with disdain, and found a yard with a sty holding six large creatures that looked like Earth hogs, large, hairy and full of tusks. She stripped the bodies and dumped them in the sty, and the hogs started sniffing them with appreciation.

Enryn returned to the house seeing the girl sobbing. "I think I'll call you Fae," she chuckled. The girl looked up in surprise as Enryn freed her legs and told her to make something to eat.

She daren't trust the girl and kept her on a leash while eating the best meal she had in months. "You're a good cook Fae," Enryn said with appreciation.

The girl could only nod.

Enryn looked through the window, seeing what the slaves were wearing this year, some kind of dancer costume of see-through silk with a tiny bra, loincloth, pantaloons and sleeves. The best bit was the veil. "Fae!" she called. The tiny girl looked up like a lost puppy. She pointed to the slaves outside. "Find clothing."

Fae led Enryn back upstairs to a room she had not seen before, showing a wardrobe of clothing taken off previous slaves. At Enryn's nod the slave laid out a purple costume on the bed, and then ran a bath for her mistress, washing her and fixing her hair and makeup in the local style.

When Enryn was ready Fae dressed her in the costume, fastening it correctly and securing the veil. Enryn looked at herself in the mirror, knowing the Marines would throw a fit, but she now felt sexy.

"Fae, we are going for a walk. Do you always go as you are?"

The slave nodded, so Enryn fastened the bag on her, securing both wrists to the shoulder straps, and pulled her from the house by the leash.

They drifted around the town without drawing any attention, just a couple of inconsequential slaves among hundreds more. While the costume left Enryn feeling quite exposed the veil made her invisible, declaring she was a man's trusted property. It was the best camouflage she had ever had.

They met Ceri and sat in an open air cafe, among a score of slaves whiling a way the afternoon, waiting for their masters to return from work. "Any problems Ceri?"

"None worth mentioning. Some creep mistook me for a slave," she laughed.

"Your house is secure?"

"Most of these idiots keep swine, and they are always looking for something to eat. Give it a week and even the bones will be gone."

"The other girls?"

"Some weren't sold, and are in a cell near the gate house."

"Can we free them?"

"We can tomorrow. My master, bless his soul, was quite well off, and I persuaded him to explain how to open his account. In the morning we can buy them."

"And the ones who were sold?"

"I've seen two or three looking through windows. I think they'll be fine."

"So give it a week to get organised and we move onto phase two."

"Which is?"

"I've not got that far yet, but it includes finding out how to fight back. There are four turrets parked on the port, we have to find out how they were taken and how to stop it happening again. Then we get mad and rescue our boyfriends and the other crews."

"Please mistress," Fae whispered, "may I speak?"

Enryn had almost forgotten she was holding the slave's leash. "You have something to add?"

Fae pointed to a bloated figure floating across a junction across from the cafe. "It is the Lords who take the ships, and none can fight them, no one, not ever."

Enryn and Ceri looked at the floating blob of fat who sat on a golden plate and was enclosed in a sphere of energy. It was about as alien and creepy as they get, not just the physical repugnance but mental as well, as though it did not belong in this reality. "What do you mean?" Enryn gasped.

"The energy screen is imperious to all known weapons. You can shoot anything you like at it all day long, and nothing will get through, not even ship weapons."

"The warriors had something similar in their collars," Ceri pointed out.

Fae sighed, "The warriors work for the Lords, using simpler items."

"In which way are they simpler?" Enryn gasped.

"The Lords all have self contained power cells, but the warriors use broadcast power to activate their screens; they can be turned off to prevent a mutiny."

"I think we've just found their Achilles heel," Ceri gasped.

"This is common knowledge," Fae dismissed it. "But no one knows where the power is broadcast from."

"Then let's find out," Enryn snapped. "Ceri, buy the girls in the morning. Your house is big enough, yes? Then take them home and set yourself as the Lady of the house, surrounded by her faithful slaves. Got that?"

Ceri gasped in shock, "How do you know I can do that?"

"Please Ceri," Enryn chuckled, "we knew you weren't a slave from the moment we met you."

"You did?"

"If you had explained the situation you would have been free in about a minute. But you begged to serve Sal."

"I've no regrets on that score Enryn."

"I'm sure you don't, she's a sweet kid. I'll meet you here same time tomorrow."

"You'll not be staying with me?"

"It's safer if we spread out, and I want to find some more girls. We can't just kill our masters and leave the houses empty, we have to cover up their deaths and make it look like business as normal. Perhaps arrange leave or something. Fae will be useful in teaching me how to fit in."

"I'll pass the word around."

"And tonight I've got to check the Turrets, and see if we can get the bots to fix them."

Leaving Fae bound securely in the house Enryn walked to the wall and found a safe place to climb over it. She ghosted through the night heading towards the port, dodging security patrols and off duty engineers.

Turret One was hardly guarded, her own security was better than the one provided by the piratical locals.

She slid underneath the Turret and tapped out the security code opening the maintenance hatch, then wriggled inside. She soon reached the command centre, which now seemed large and empty, with nothing to fill it but memories. Enryn saw Ace's dress uniform hanging next to her black dress, and fought to hold back the tears.

"Alright you bastards," she gasped, "let's see if you can get round this." She changed the security settings on the computer, and then linked in to the other Turrets, resetting their security as well. Then she ran a diagnostic on all four Turrets, finding what was wrong and telling the maintenance-bots to fix it.

Now all she could do was wait till they were fixed.

She crept back home, seeing Fae sleeping at the foot of her bed bound so tightly she could hardly move, and released the worst of her bonds; the girl stretched in her sleep, smiled and rolled over to a more comfortable position.

Enryn watched the girl sleeping for a few minutes, wondering how long it took her to learn to sleep like that; then leaving the slave secured at neck, wrists and ankles, she went to bed.

Enryn awoke with the dawn, feeling someone climbing onto the foot of her bed and wriggling underneath the sheets. She ignored it for a few minutes as the intruder wormed between her legs and crept ever higher.

She peeled the sheet down to see Fae's face between her thighs, and reached down placing a finger under the girl's chin forcing her to look up. "And what may I ask are you doing?"

"Trying to save my life mistress," Fae replied with total honesty. "If you leave me they will kill me for sure. Slowly."

"Oh, what am I doing?" Enryn sighed.

"Please save me mistress," Fae sobbed in desperation.

Enryn reached down to unsnap the short leash from her collar, and holding her under both armpits pulled the girl up to sit on her lap so she could examine her, while still cuffed at wrists and ankles.

She looked closely at the girl, seeing that the pallor was natural, her skin was of pure alabaster perfection that would not tan. Her hair was not white, but white gold, and her eyes were of rose gold with tiny specks of yellow that glowed in the morning light. Her lips were of pale red and built to laugh. But it had been many years since she had reason to find anything funny. All in all Fae was lovely, and had a sort of doomed alien beauty about her.

Enryn sighed, "This is down time so we can have a chat."

"As you wish lady."

"What's your real name?"

"I have not got one. My birth name is long forgotten and my masters did not talk to me. If they wanted me to feed them they would drag me to the kitchen. If they wanted sex they would drag me to the bedroom, or where ever they wanted it. And if they wanted to punish me they would hang me from the ceiling. We never had a conversation like this."

"By the Ship!" Enryn swore. "They died too easily."

"Can I serve you mistress?" Fae begged in desperation. "I'll do anything for you, please save me."

"If you give yourself to me," Enryn sighed, "I can't promise to save you. But I will try. My mission comes before even my own life."

"But you will try?" Fae gasped.

"When this goes down it will be chaos! Shooting everywhere. Everyone will be running round in panic and if you can't keep up I won't stop for you."

"I used to be able to run like the wind, but it is many years since I have tried. Lady, if you lead I shall follow, for the rest of my life."

"Your life!" Enryn gasped, thinking back to her own past.

"Save my life and I belong to you mistress," Fae said simply.

"I might be able to sponsor you," Enryn sighed. "But you will never be a Marine, too dainty and fragile." She freed the girl's wrists saying, "Very well Fae, I will take you."

Fae smiled and twisted to snuggle with her back to Enryn, who put her arms around the slave's breasts and between her thighs holding on positively. After a few minutes Enryn sighed, "You are so soft."

"Did you then expect to find me hard lady?"

"I've my share of that too."

Enryn pulled Fae through the town in the morning, seeing Ceri buying a dozen girls and lead them home in chains, while they were all pretending to cry.

"Shush," Enryn turned at the sound to see one of her girls looking through a window.

"Safe Oana?"

"Come on in."

Enryn slipped through the door into a neat little house. "How's it going?"

"Fine, I'm happy here. My mistress Sharral is a nice woman and has two great kids."

"Cadet Oana, you are a Marine first, not a slave! We came here for a mission, to free our Platoon, not to baby-sit."

Oana snapped to attention, "Yes Sergeant!"

"Good, now keep that in mind."

"I'm just saying Sharral the nicest lady I've ever worked for..."

"I'm not asking you to kill her. But she can't be allowed to get in the way, do you want to see your man again?

"Yes Sergeant." Oana said sadly, "I'll make plans, just in case she rumbles me."

The plan was moving forward slowly, as girl after girl reported in, only a couple weren't found, and Enryn feared for them. Many were living in fear with terrible masters, but were prepared to endure the abuse, knowing their time would come. But like Oana a few had found nice families and were torn in two over what to do. But Marines always protected their own.

Using a hand scanner from Turret One the power transmitter was traced to a field outside the town. Enryn took Fae for a walk and found the transmitter disguised as a tree. She was throwing a ball for the slave to catch while deciding on the best way of disabling the transmitter.

"Hey you!"

Enryn looked up to see a security detachment running towards her. There was no chance to talk her way past them, not with three half eaten bodies in her sty and holding a scanner that pointed to the transmitter even they did not know about, so she turned and fled into the wilderness with Fae running along side.

Twelve men chased her through low bushes that she slipped through like an eel, while they fought their way through with brute force. They were expecting the usual fun and games of hunting down runaways, punishing them severely and a gang rape to round off an exiting day. They were about to have the most exiting time of their lives, but being raped wasn't on Enryn's agenda.

Enryn soon encountered an area of ravines and small rivers, and she jumped from bank to bank with ease as the men stumbled along behind her through the muddy water. She glanced back to see three men climbing from the ravine covered in mud, and took time to bury the scanner.

"Can you keep up mistress?" Fae sobbed as she paced her mistress, running as lightly as a leaf through the wilderness.

"Believe it or not I'm at home in the wild," Enryn laughed. "I'm going slow to lead them far from the town."

"Why?" the slave sobbed.

"Because I can't let them report back," she explained simply, "so I'm going to kill them."

"But how?" Fae gasped in shock. "You haven't any weapons."

"I've got your leash," Enryn laughed.

Being careful not let the Patrol loose heart and go home, Enryn enticed them ever further into the wilderness, appearing and disappearing at will; appearing to stumble and flounder when they could see her, and running like a gazelle when they could not. The pantaloons were slowing her down so she slipped them off, tearing them into strips to use as bait.

The men grew ever more angry and determined to hunt her down, thrashing through the bushes and tall grass with sticks and bayonets.

Enryn lead a man off to one side with a bit of purple fabric fastened to a bush, crawled behind him and slipped the leash around his neck, then twisted and threw him over her shoulder. He fell to the grass silently with a broken neck.

She pulled off his weapon belt and rolled the body under a bush, then fled the scene as two more men came looking for their friend.

Fae had watched the assassination with disbelief, the dozen men were not hunting the runaway slaves, Enryn was hunting them!

She appeared on the other side of the Patrol, leading them away from the body, and set her next trap with one sleeve hanging on a tree, killing a second man with the leash and hiding the body.

Soon both her sleeves were lost and she ran for her life in a tiny bra and loin cloth, relishing the freedom.

Letting Fae carry the pistols, she explained to the sport that if she fired even one shot the Patrol would scatter and high tail it back to the town looking for re-enforcements.

Twelve men didn't bother too much, but a hundred?

Night was drawing in and the Patrol took shelter starting a small fire, calling out for their missing friends. It never occurred to them that they were dead, slaves might run away but were always harmless.

Enryn rested and asked Fae to find a few items that she described exactly, carrying a captured knife the slave took off into the dusk trusting to great night vision as she searched for the shopping.

An hour later Fae returned with the items and a couple of dead animals, that she expected to cook. Enryn surprised her again by eating her meat raw, and working on three light lances and a spear thrower.

Finally Enryn managed to get a couple of hours sleep, guarded by her slave, and awoke with the dawn stretching in freedom.

"You are enjoying this mistress!" Fae gasped in wonder.

"First time I've felt free since joining the Marines. This is how I used to live, but then I was terrified all the time, now I know what I'm doing and I'm a lot fitter; I could run rings around those idiots down there."

One man was walking back to camp, to report on the hunt and look for his missing friends.

Enryn stood up on a low hill and waved at him. He took off at full speed racing up the bank drawing his pistol. She waited for him as if giving up, he was sure she was terrified, cold and starving.

At a range of twenty feet she bent to pick up the spear-thrower and cast a lance straight into his guts. She dropped flat as he died, in case he fired at her, however he had been so confident he hadn't even cocked his pistol.

Fae collected yet another pistol and ammunition, holding them in a shoulder bag, and was beginning to trust her new mistress. For the first time she thought she might even live.

Enryn rolled the body into a ditch, casting brush and leaves to hide it, and shortened the weapon belt, fastening it around her hips.

Going through the man's shoulder bag Fae found some food and other supplies.

"I meant to ask, why don't you have nails?" Enryn asked as they ate ration bars from the dead man.

"I used to mistress, long and sharp they were, but I ran away once up here, and when they caught me they de-clawed me." She held up her hands to show that her fingers had all been shortened by a digit. "My toes too. It was months before I could walk, let alone run."

"But you're such a good runner I'm surprised they caught you."

"I spent a few months here and ran freely, and unlike you always away from trouble, but there was little to eat; even the rodents don't have all the proteins needed to support life. So I had to try stealing from the town. I'm a good runner but terrible thief."

"In my service you will always be able to run," Enryn snapped, "so long as you run back to me."

"In town too?"

"I've still got your leash, and enjoy using it," Enryn laughed. "No Fae, I had some thought to free you but decided against it; you're an accident waiting to happed, so I'd better keep you safe."

"Then I am your slave!" she gasped in delight. "I am sorry, but I need someone to tell me what to do."

"I understand that," Enryn said kindly. "Just don't ask me to brand you!"

"If it's a nice brand, tasteful and in a good place..."

"If I only had a couple of hours to spare," Enryn sighed. "But there are a lot more to kill before this day is through."

"Then can we have a fire tonight?"

"I'm in charge of the killing, when it's safe I'll leave the cooking up to you."

They turned and jogged around the Platoon, leading the doomed men ever further from the town; while developing a true friendship and mutual respect.

The greatest difference between the girls was that Fae would always run from trouble while Enryn would always run towards it.

Enryn got lucky and took out two men urinating in a stream, her lances piercing their hearts from behind, they dropped without a sound. Fae rushed to collect the lances, knowing it would take hours of hard work to replace them.

But as she reached down to ease them free from the bodies two more men walked from behind a bush to see her. They gasped in horror and ran for the startled girl.

Then Enryn stood before her, knife in hand and a savage grin on her lips. The men drew their own weapons and ran her down.

She dropped flat, kicking out at a man's ankles, and he went flying towards Fae. The second man ran past Enryn, slowing and trying to turn. She flipped back to her feet and lunged with the knife, ripping out his throat.

Then Enryn turned to see Fae impaling the first man with one of the lances, pinning him to the ground as he aimed a pistol at the Marine's back; the slave quickly stood on the pistol saving Enryn's life.

Grinning at the terrified girl, Enryn walked forward and casually slit his throat, dodging the spurting blood.

"Like I said, you're accident prone," Enryn laughed. "But now you really do belong to me!"

"When we make it back to town mistress, I really have to bathe you," Fae insisted. "You look terrible."

"I think you should join me in the bath," Enryn suggested laughing, "you're looking a mess yourself."

They hid the bodies and ran off towards their prey.

It was two days later when they made it back to the house, leaving no trace of the patrol.

Fae kept her word and bathed Enryn, only to be pulled into the bath. And for the first time in years she started to laugh.

Ceri knocked on the door, and entered to see them both still wet from the bath. "I've been worried, you've been missing for days."

"Been shopping," Enryn said and emptied the bag of pistols and ammunition on the table.

Ceri only nodded, "They'll be useful, we can get a few carbines from the turrets, but not hide them in these costumes."

"So how's it going?"

"All the girls are accounted for, two had been kept locked in a cellar for some pretty bad reasons, so I explained the faulty reasoning to a couple of sadists and they promised to be good from then on."

Fae could only look confused.

"She killed them," Enryn explained. "Eventually."

"Took a couple of hours to sort the girls out, you know, sawing off their chains and first aid? So we had some free time. They'll be okay, but arn't up to fighting just yet, the Lady knows they are mad enough though."

"I found the transmitter disguised as a tree, pretty badly."

"And we found the men. There's a high security prison for captured prisoners, the rich or powerful ones at least."

"And we can get in?"

"If we go dressed as slaves we might manage it, oh, wait, we are dressed as slaves," Ceri laughed. "All we have to do is look scared and I'm sure they'll be only too happy to invite us in."

"Trust a man to think with his balls," Enryn laughed, "and then we geld them."

"And the Turrets are well on the way back to normal, about five days."

"Any more news?"

"Oana got her self in trouble. That nice lady, Sharral, who bought her was waiting for her beast of a husband to return from duty. Anyway, big fight, the creep is dead and Oana has the woman and her two kids tied up. I recommended she resolve the situation, but she refused and showed me the woman's back. Lady, I've never seen so many scars left by a whip, and by her own husband! It's no wonder Sharral wanted to give him Oana."

"That kid will be the death of me," Enryn sighed. "Okay, it's on her head."

"I'll take it you are not leaving your new friend," Ceri gestured to Fae.

"She's earned the right to keep up. And she can run faster than a Marine."

Ceri gasped in shock, "You're not thinking of enlisting her?"

"You've got to be kidding, she'd faint at the sight of a drill instructor. I need volunteers for the various parts of the mission, explain it to the girls and pick the best qualified."

"I'll take the pick up Sergeant," Ceri snapped. "One other thing, have you given any thought to taking one of the civilian ships?"

"We'll be too busy running to rescue any more, no matter how much I'd like to sweep this cess pool clean."

"Then we're set," Ceri sighed.

"Five days and counting," Enryn agreed. "And then these pirates, or whatever they are, will find out what it's like to piss off the Marine Corps!"

"I wonder, if this works, do you think it will count to our becoming full Marines?"

Enryn sighed, "If it doesn't work it will count a lot to our being fully dead."

Eight girls under Ceri made it to the Turrets, and got inside without being seen by anyone who still lived.

Then Enryn walked calmly in to the high security prison and shot the guards with a carbine. More girls ran to seal off the prison and turn into a fort.

Dressed in full dancer costumes Enryn and four more girls marched through the prison, snapping to a halt outside a large cell, they turned right and she took two steps forward saluting with the carbine. "Cadet Sergeant Enryn Macintyre, Women's Auxiliary Fifty First Marine Corps, reporting, sir!"

The bedraggled officers thought it was a joke.

"General Jones, I hope you will listen?"

The general, in what was left of his army uniform, gasped, "Didn't I see you dancing with Gunny?"

"Yes sir! Gunny Macintyre is my partner sir. May I suggest that you all step away from the wall?" A faint hum could be heard, which grew ever louder.

The General was about to ask why when a EAI came crashing through the wall, piloted by Ceri. "Weapons and armour are in the rear compartment sir," Enryn snapped, saluted, turned right and continued to match to the next cell, shooting the locks off as she marched past.

"Typical bloody Marine," an Officer gasped. "Only they could turn a jailbreak into a parade!"

"But I do like the uniforms," a second officer laughed.

A bunch of guards came charging around the corner, but she didn't even break stride as her bodyguards blew them to bits.

Four Landers circled the prison, laying down pinpoint suppression fire with Chainguns and hellfire missiles, as their sixteen EAIs were remotely driven to free the prisoners.

Chaos ruled as the Iowa's crew grabbed armour and weapons and began to fight back. Two Turrets were manned by Marines, one the Army and one Air Force, but all were familiar with the carbines; all they had to do was point and shoot.

Enryn finally found the Marine cell, and saw Ace sitting patently on a flea infested bunk, waiting for her with a big grin plastered all over his face. "I see you came dressed for the occasion."

"Camouflage Ace," she snapped, "when in a forest look like a tree, and when in a prison look like a slave."

"We saw you being sold and I knew it was a trick; you'll never be a slave," he sighed. "But feel free to bring the costume."

"We're out of EAIs, Too many levels and cells, so we'll have to do this the old fashioned way."

"You mean run for it."

She blew the cell door open as her escort were opening all the other cells of a mixed lot of alien civilians. Then the exodus began with everyone running for their lives.

Outside the EAIs were now fully manned and surrounding the prison, and now in charge of much of the town. Until the Warriors began to emerge one by one, and forced them back to defend the prison.

As Enryn and Ace burst from the prison three Warriors strode forth surrounded by glowing fields of energy.

Enryn fired three times and saw her shots absorbed by the personal screens. "I figured that would happed, but these guys are five minutes early."

"And what happens in five minutes?"

"We get a lot more targets."

Fae stuck her cute nose round the corner, and hurried over holding the spear thrower. "I just, like, thought you might need these."

Ace almost started to laugh, until Enryn took the suggestion seriously. She placed the spear thrower on her right fore arm with her fingers through the leather strap, and placed a lance in the slot, pushing it against the back stop.

The Warriors strode forth, wondering why no one was shooting at them.

Enryn took her position and let fly with her first lance, and the wooden shaft slid slowly through the energy screen, to bury the point in the man's guts.

She loaded again and killed the second warrior, and then the third. Ace could only watch her in disbelief.

Fae rushed off to recover the lances, making sure the Warriors were really dead by pushing the lances in even further, as Enryn tried to look innocent. "By the way, the girl is called Fae, and she belongs to us. I hope you don't mind?"

"We'll talk about that after the battle," Ace sighed and saw the alien kid finishing off the last of the Warriors who had once beaten him into slavery. "Then again I can't think of any reason to object."

A hundred Warriors were converging on the prison, surrounding the EAIs as more came from across the city.

They rushed to General Jones and his command staff, explaining Enryn's plan.

The Warriors were held at bay without being fired on, so they could not absorb any more energy. When it was clear they were all there and the Lord came floating up Enryn gave the command to the Landers and a single Hellfire missile was launched beyond the town.

Oana was crouching in the brush outside the wall, next to three bound figures of her former mistress Sharral and her children; she carefully aimed a laser targeter at the power transmitter as the hellfire missile tore over the wall, locked on to the laser and drove in doing over mach two. The explosion vaporised the tower with a blinding flash. "Target destroyed, two trucks of reinforcements on the way from the landing field. Illuminated." Two more missiles blasted over the wall to hit the security patrols.

The screens failed as one, leaving the startled men as good as naked, and the Marines opened up with their carbines, tearing through the Warriors in a split second of death.

Only the Lord now stood in defiance. "Think you have won?" the creature laughed. "Know that we own this galaxy, and none can stand against us."

Enryn strode forth unarmed. "I've been thinking about that," she mused. "It seems to me that you like us shooting at you, so you can feed off our energy. So what happens when we don't shoot you?"

"I have power enough."

She walked right up to the monster, testing the barrier with a finger and pulling it quickly back. "That stings," she laughed. "I'll bet it really hurts if you stick your hand in there."

"But, but..."

"That was the wrong answer," she laughed and thrust her left arm through the glowing barrier, forcing her hand to reach for the monster as her arm felt as though it was on fire.

Feeling blindly through the agony her numb fingers closed in on the bloated neck and began to squeeze. The creature began to thrash in panic as she increased the pressure and her fingers dug into the windpipe, crushing the cartilage. Then she jerked it forward and struck with her right hand, crushing the face and breaking the neck. The bubble snapped out of existence and the golden saucer fell to the ground leaving Enryn holding a bag of skin with her left hand.

"Somebody get a body-bag will you? I'm sure Ison Percival will want to dissect this thing."

Ace ran up, "How could you do that?"

"It was no worse that giving birth, women are designed to withstand pain."

Oana stood up and turned to Sharral, "It looks like you get to live, as my slave. I do hope you like being tied up?"

"My children?" she sobbed.

"Believe it or not it was always about them. I loved them from the start, and I'll free them on the ship."

"And I? What will you do to me?"

"You know those little games we used to play when you first bought me?"

"I thought you liked them," Sharral sobbed.

"I did, but I hope you will feel the same."

"Right Ace, I've completed the mission and am now handing control back to you. Tactics I understand, but this is now getting political."

"We can afford one day to sort out the mess down here, before their ships start to show up. And we can't pull your tricks with a battleship."

General Jones walked up, "I've been talking to the other survivors. We can fill a passenger ship with the prisoners and slaves, and they have asked for the Marines to guard it. So looks like you'll be travelling first class Gunny, while the Army takes over Turret One."

"And what happens after sir?"

"We blow this place from orbit. They'll never again use it."

"That'll slow them down, but not stop them."

"With their weapons nothing will stop them, we have to get back to the Iowa."

"I heard that this is only one of a hundred or more bases," Ace sighed.

"This galaxy is going down the toilet Gunney, and it's up to us to stop it."

All four Turrets were now hanging over the town with menacing presence, as the Iowa's crew swept every inch of the town, freeing slaves and rounding up those masters who had adapted better to the life than they should.

Buying a slave was one thing, using her another, but torture was approaching the worst kind of taste. Everyone knew there had been a number of private executions in dark cellars with girls being lifted to freedom on stretchers.

General Jones oversaw one rescue mission and told his platoon to carry on as he cut a tall black girl free from a whipping frame, and turned to her captor drawing his pistol. He half carried the girl to find a doctor he had met in prison, who was far from human but very humane. The girl's former master neither needed nor wanted a doctor.

The Poulum was a luxury passenger ship pirated six months ago, she was fast but had hardly any weapons. The Marines took over one section of the first class deck, mixing with the newly freed passengers, while thousands of slaves that hadn't yet been classified were secured in the vast cargo holds.

If most of them needed to be tried for their crimes against their slaves, who would testify for or against them. They had only been trying to stay alive, and many slaves had refused to leave their former masters. Whether from gratitude, desperation, fear, training or even love, would be up to the therapists to sort out.

With only a day to prepare, load and launch her, corners had been cut, but she matched orbit with the four Turrets and saw them destroy the planet with a barrage of plasma cannons and gauss guns.

It looked impressive until you realise it was useless against the pirates.

Enryn hung up her black dress and Ace's dress uniform in the cabin they now shared with Fae. She turned to see him on the bed.

"Are you ever going to take that costume off?"

"I was hoping you would do it for me," she said brashly. "I've been waiting for this for weeks love. Don't scare me like that again."

"I'd say it worked out," he laughed. "Enryn, you had your first taste of command, and did a first rate job, no one could have done better."

"You've no concerns about Fae?"

"You saved her, and she saved us both back. I'm looking forward to getting to know her."

"I've had word from Ceri, a few of the girls also made friends down there. Oana brought Sharral and two children."

"I saw her bringing them on board, the woman was still in chains, but looked happy enough. We'll let the Iowa sort it out."

"How's Sal? I've not seen her."

"Pretty badly beaten up, she would not bend no matter what they did. But she'll get over it with Ceri's love."

"Any idea about clothing? Most of us made it out in our bare skin."

"I had a word with the steward about that, we can use the tailor to replace our uniforms and for anything else we need."

"Ace," she sighed, "will you shut up and hold me?"

"I'm scared Enryn. Fae also saved you life. Will you love her instead of me?"

"Half the bloody Marine Corps, the Army and Air Force helped save my life. Do you think I'm going to sleep with them all?"

In the morning they called at the tailor's and came away looking like Marines in Khaki service uniforms. They also ordered battle dress with a light reflecting camouflage pattern. Enryn got a few dresses and some for Fae.

They spent the rest of the day checking up on their Platoon, which now stood for both branches, male and female. Ceri was looking after Sal, as the teenager struggled to come to terms with her ordeal. Another half dozen girls had been hurt in the battle, and a dozen men.

Ace collared Captain Simme of the Poulum and asked if he had a doctor on board. And soon they were being treated by an alien who looked like a walking walrus, including tusks and whiskers. However, Doctor Parsnus was highly talented, had a great bedside manor, and really cared for his patients. It was only when you saw him eating fish...

With the Poulum's advanced sensors linked to the four Turrets, they tracked the Iowa down, but it would be a long trip catching up and they were expecting to meet the Pirate fleet again.

The five ships fled through space.

A month later the Poulum was starting to look like her old self, with formal dinners and small talk. The passengers consisted of a dozen different races, all humanoid but distinctly different from Homo Sapient Terra.

Ace had his dress uniform cleaned and Enryn slipped back into her little black dress that was covered in stars. Fae joined them in a simple dress of blue silk. And Army General Jones had crossed over on a shuttle in time to have his uniform replaced.

The formal celebration wasn't much different from the Percival Ball, with small talk and dancing.

Enryn, Ace and Fae seated themselves across from General Jones and Doctor Parsnus, with Captain Simme sitting near by.

Captain Simme saw Fae seated at his table with disbelief. "I know you Earthers are new out here, but I never expected to see that!" He was tall with a blue black face that looked hollow from months of starvation and torture. Six tiny horns emerged in a single line from his brow to the nape of his shaved neck.

"See what Captain?" Enryn asked politely.

"The feline. I've never seen one sitting at a table wearing a dress. You trained her well, you'd almost think she was intelligent."

"She is intelligent," Enryn insisted.

"What is she?" Ace asked.

"In the wild they don't have a culture or civilisation, they live in small family groups, playing, hunting and eating. But they are a fad amongst the rich, who like to trap, train and breed them."

Doctor Parsnus chuckled, "She is lovely, must be a pedigree."

"If my presence offends you gentlemen I shall withdraw," Fae sobbed.

"Sit still!" Enryn commanded. "You owe Fae a lot, so I would think a little compassion is due. She was a slave far longer than any of you."

"Not a slave, an animal," Captain Simme insisted.

"As you wish," Enryn said dangerously. "But I hope you won't mind me treating her as I wish?"

"By all means, dress her as you like," Captain Simme said magnanimously. "But I hope you will clean up after her?"

Enryn had to force Fae to sit still on being humiliated, as the girl sobbed into her soup.

General Jones changed the subject rapidly. "Gunny, I thought you'd like to know I'm recommending the WA are to be considered full Marines, and giving Enryn and Ceri battlefield promotions so they can keep their cadet ranks. God knows, they've earned them. Yes I know I'm only Army, but I sure I can swing this. Congratulations Sergeant Enryn Macintyre."

"Does that mean I'm getting paid?" she gasped in surprise.

"Something over two thousand dollars a month, you'll have to check that with your pay clerk. There might be circumstances I'm not aware of, like Imminent Hazard and relocation bonuses."

"And I'm still being docked for her necessities," Ace gasped. "Enryn should be paying for mine."

The soup was cleared away and the fish course came next. Doctor Parsnus had his served in a bucket still wriggling, Enryn watched in fascination as the trembling tail disappeared down his gullet.

"You like not my table manors youngling?"

"I've eaten raw food before, but never still wriggling."

"At least I know my fish is fresh," the doctor laughed.

A few days later they met a man in the corridor cursing two teenage sisters who still wore the dancer costumes, they were connected by a stout chain between their collars; he was trying to free the chain with a small tool and was really annoyed.

"Problems?" Ace asked.

"I only needed one girl, but the bitches jammed the lock."

Enryn looked closely to see they were twins of about fourteen, quite human looking and terrified of being parted, they hugged each other in desperation. "Who are they?"

"Don't know, don't care. They can't talk so it doesn't matter. I found them in the hold with the other slaves."

"Can't you free them?" Ace asked.

"Not without killing them, they really jammed the lock. The only way to free them now is taking of one of their heads."

"May I suggest that you return to the hold and pick a slave who wants to serve you?" Ace said with meaning, glaring at the man with a face that had been known to give Generals nightmares.

"That would be easier," he admitted, turning white, and rushed off down the corridor.

"Two more?" Enryn gasped.

"Until we make it back to the Iowa, Fae we can squeeze in, but not these kids."

Enryn looked at them closely, seeing short red hair, green eyes and freckles, and the fear that was eating them alive. "We can use them for now. I'm certainly not letting them go on this ship."

The kids were taken back to their stateroom where Fae bathed and fed them, then let them sleep in the same bed. Ace checked up on the alloy the collars and chain were made of, to find out it indeed could not be cut through without the radiation killing them both. So they would forever be connected by three feet of chain.

Enryn asked Doctor Parsnus to check on them in the morning, to find out they were both in deep post traumatic stress, which explained why they could not talk.

"This one is surprised at your compassion for strangers. With any others I would suspect you intended to use them."

"They are children," Ace gasped.

"Forever they will not be."

"Back on the Iowa we will pass them on to those who will care for them," Enryn insisted. "We have not the space or resources to help them."

"Our joint quarters are about the size of this bedroom," Ace admitted. "It'll be cramped with us and Fae."

Doctor Parsnus saw Fae curled up naked, sleeping in a chair. "That one will make a good pet, but will you want her nails re-growing? Warn you I must, she may scratch."

"She's the right to be her true self," Enryn gasped. "If you can treat her, then do it please."

"Fae's true self is living wild and free, sleeping in the warm day and hunting small animals at night. She has been bred well, but let you not be confused, she is an animal."

"Fix her nails," Ace sighed.

"I shall. Has she ever complained about being on a leash?"

"I think she likes it," Enryn sighed.

"Then warn you again must I, her sexual drive is very strong. Don't keep her frustrated for long."

"I don't get you," Ace gasped. "One second you're saying she's an animal and the next a sex slave."

"Earth this is not humans. Try looking through the window now and then."

The girls they named Aea and Bea, and got used to them tidying the stateroom and helping Fae to cook and serve meals. They were always in the background, just another part of the furniture.

Fae slept at the foot of their bed, smiling in her sleep, stretching and purring in the dream world of a long lost planet she had never heard of. She still thought she was, if not human, at least sentient. One pill from Doctor Parsnus had started her fingers and toes re-growing, it would take months to replace the digits sliced off years ago, and caused maddening itching, but she was looking forward to seeing her claws again.

When they took a walk around the Paulum, Fae usually fastened her own leash, waiting at the door for her masters. If Enryn told her to dress she would do so happily, if not it didn't bother her.

Sal retuned to duty, still weak but recovering under Ceri's loving care, and Doctor Parsnus' good humoured bedside manor. It was obvious to all that Sal and Ceri were now lovers, and no-one batted an eyelid, they were too glad seeing her looking like a Marine again.

The ships fled across space, homing in on the Iowa, but receiving no response to their hails.

The pushed the long range scan far beyond the maximum, picking up a single fuzzy picture of the Iowa, to see a twisted hulk floating in space. All her turrets were gone, and the ship looked dead.

Ace shut the view screen down in horror. "She's gone," he gasped. "After all that."

"Then where do we go?" Doctor Parsnus gasped. "No place now is safe."

"Receiving a signal," the sensor operator called out. "Human origin I would guess."

Ace rushed to the console to pick up a call in English, "Shiloh, to all turrets, come in please. Repeating, Shiloh of the Iowa, to all turrets, come in please."

"One of the Navy strike ships," Ace gasped. "Gunny Macintyre to Shiloh, I'm listening, over."

"Gunny, Gyor here, praise the Lady you're all right. Situation? Over."

"All accounted for. I've four turrets and a passenger ship. Over.

"I've been tracking you for weeks. Over."

"We have data on a new threat, one that can beat all of our defences. Over."

"We've met. And they kicked our butt. Over."

"What's your ETA Gyor? Over."

"Two days Gunny. Over and out."

The Shiloh docked with the Paulum, revealing half the Percival family who looked shocked as they limped from the ship, arm in arm. Gyor was first off with En-eta. Then John and Isralla, Eileen and Ison, Jack and Lorza. Jina walked last.

"So what happened?" Ace gasped.

"Have you ever tried telling the Brass to stop shooting?" Gyor gasped sadly. "The damn fools just ignored the damage to the Iowa and kept on blasting away."

"We scored a minor victory," Ace sighed, "but only face to face. Enryn even killed one of the Lords. But we've no idea how to beat their ships."

"I brought you the body Ison," Enryn stated. "I was sure you'd like to have a look."

"That might help, with a decent autopsy," he sighed.

"We've a good man in Doctor Parsnus, if you don't mind his eating habits," Ace chuckled. "We also brought a few bits of their technology. Personal force screens and flying discs."

"You what?" Eileen gasped. "You have that and didn't tell me!"

"We just did," Enryn laughed. "They can be killed through their screens, if you go slowly. A lance or even a blow."

"Think I'll use a sword," Eileen said with certainty, patting a Kattana like weapon on her left hip.

Ace and Enryn escorted them to a suite near the Marines, and Isralla saw the stripes sewn onto her service uniform sleeves. "You got promoted Enryn?"

"Think so, but with the Iowa out of the picture I'm not sure."

Isralla chuckled, "With the Iowa out of the picture there's no-one who can say no. The military had their shot and missed by a mile, so now we're in charge."

"I got most of them away," Gyor insisted. "Had to cheat like hell but I opened a portal to Aeden, so they'll be okay. I won't, my bosses will moan for a month. They'll want to put them all in stasis, just to keep Aeden looking neat, but I've a large estate there I hardly use, so my former lovers and their families will be okay."

"So how is the Iowa?" Ace asked. "We got a long range scan and it looked bad."

"It is bad, but we still have a crew on board and the bots are fixing the damage, so in a few months we should be able to return."

"So what do we do in the mean time?"

"Gunny old boy," John laughed, "how would you like to beat the pirates?"

"What with?" he sighed. "Four turrets and the Shiloh?"

Eileen gloated, "The Texas, and in a month or two the Florida."

"Never heard of them," Ace gasped.

"Because that's the first time I've spoken the names out loud," she stated. "I started the Texas before the Iowa, then got so many comities telling me what they wanted to put in a Dreadnaught I didn't tell them I already had a Super Dreadnaught."

"We built them on the Moon," John explained. "They are quite large and a bit powerful."

"How large?" Enryn gasped.

"This ship, the Paulum, will fit in the small craft bay," Isralla laughed.

Ison started the autopsy with Doctor Parsnus, slicing the Lord into bits, as Eileen was dissembling the personal force screens.

Gyor asked Ace and Enryn to show her around the Paulum. "She's quite nice," Gyor said politely to Captain Simme.

"The Paulum is the best my world has ever built," he stated proudly.

"For a lifeboat I mean," Gyor corrected herself. She saw Fae with delight. "And I thought this might get boring," she sighed.

"The feline," Simme dismissed the girl. "Just an animal."

"Animal?" Gyor laughed. "If you only knew! She belongs to you Gunny and Enryn? You are most fortunate."

"Then what is she?" Enryn asked. "Even Fae doesn't know what she is."

"One who likes to be pampered," Gyor laughed. "Her kind doesn't allow themselves to be domesticated through ignorance, they could well be brighter than we are, but because they enjoy being loved. Do you?"

"Yes lady Gyor," Enryn laughed, "we do love her."

"And the children?" she gestured to where Aea and Bea were tidying the stateroom.

"We had to take them," Ace explained. "Some damn fool only wanted one of them, and scared them so badly they jammed their collars so they can't be taken off."

"And they are too terrified to speak," Enryn sighed. "What else could we do?"

"You two are coming along nicely," Gyor purred. She walked over and chatted with the kids, and when she came back their collars and the chain were now light and comfortable. "If you want to remove the chains you can, but they wanted to feel safely together. In a few years they will be fine."

"You can talk to them?" Ace gasped.

"I can talk to anything. All you have to do is listen."

Fae cooked lunch and served it with the kids, and they all sat to eat together. As the meal progressed Aea and Bea started to smile and talk shyly. They were a long way from getting over their ordeal, but now they could at least see a way beyond the thorny trees and into the sunlight.

"You might want to find them something to wear a bit more modest," Gyor insisted. "Something to boost their self-esteem."

"I'll take them to the tailor's this afternoon," Enryn agreed. "To be honest, we never intended to keep them, we expected to hand them over on the Iowa."

Isralla chuckled, "That's no longer an option, so they belong to you now."

"Just love them," Gyor laughed, "that's all they want, someone to love. And soon they'll be chatting away."

Enryn took the kids into the bedroom, stripping off the old dancer costumes, and dressed them in oversized white T-shirts that almost reached their knees, she had to pull the garments up their bodies because of the chain, stretching the necks so that they would always hang off one shoulder. When they re-entered the dining room to were a long way to looking like real children. They sat together to eat their ice-cream, still connected by three feet of chain, but were now laughing openly.

"Perfect," Isralla laughed, "they're lovely."

"Their parents were killed," Gyor sighed, "so there is no-one in the universe who cares if they live or die."

"We care," Enryn insisted. "The same happed to me, so we will care for them. I'm certainly not going to let them grow us as I did."

"By the way, how did you find us?" Ace asked.

"Enryn's dress, I see you still have it. Well, I made it, so I've been tracking it across half the Galaxy."

"You bugged my dress!" Enryn gasped in outrage.

"I've been impressed by you both from the start; so I wanted to keep an eye on you."

"After I tell you what Enryn had to do to save us, you'll be even more impressed," Ace gasped in pride.

"I saw most of it, the dress allowed me to eavesdrop," Gyor laughed. "But it was when she led twelve men on a hunt that I really took notice. I just had to broadcast that around the ship live."

"Then you saw all I did," Enryn gasped in horror.

"We saw more than that, we saw why you did it. Gunny, you are one lucky man."

"I know it," he gasped.

"When you are ready, I hope you will allow me to bless your union."

"You're talking marriage, right?" he gasped.

"There's no need for cold feet," Enryn laughed, "we've been as good as married ever since you signed my papers."

"You may bless us lady Gyor, but we will marry back on Earth."

"Notice how he didn't ask me?" Enryn gasped. "We will marry..."

"Ha, but he's only a man," Gyor laughed.

With Fae, Aea and Bea sitting around the table with them, and En-eta standing proudly by her side, the Lady Gyor blessed the union in the name of The Lady Ellberath of Yag-Urth. It was not a formal wedding but a declaration of a love that would never die. Gyor would see to that.

She had so few friends among the mortals she was always looking for fresh talent worthy of taking into eternity. So far Enryn and Ace had surprised her at every turn.

A month later the Texas and Florida emerged from the depths of space; while both were almost entirely automated, the Texas was the command ship with a small city in her heart.

The Paulus flew around the Texas, looking at the vast array of weapons that would leave the Iowa looking like a child's toy.

While the Iowa had but fourteen Cruiser sized turrets, both Super Dreadnaughts had a hundred. And their primary weapons were even more impressive.

If only they could hit their foes.

The city of the Texas was empty at first, for no man had ever set foot on ether ship. Then the Paulus pulled into a landing cradle, and was pulled through an air lock and through a mile of solid armour, to rest in a landing field outside a small city of graceful buildings and open parks. A holographic sky and artificial sun shone warmly down on the refugees as they disembarked from the Paulus.

"What is this?" Ace gasped in shock.

"About five percent of the Texas," Eileen assured him. "That makes the Florida five percent more powerful. But I thought like: What the heck?"

"It would get very lonely in here with but a single pilot," John laughed.

All of the passengers, crew and the hundreds of rescued slaves were now standing looking up at the city in sheer disbelief. The holographic sky extended to cover the walls leaving a view of an imaginary panorama beyond the city of living trees and snow capped mountains. Many thought they were on a planet.

The four turrets were brought on board, and their crews soon joined everyone in shock. General Jones tried to take command, until Eileen quite plainly told him that the military had destroyed the Iowa, and that both Super Dreadnaughts belonged to the Percival family.

Ace started to wonder what Eileen had ordered growing to replace the Texas and Florida.

What was beyond a Super Dreadnought?

It took a week to settle in to their new accommodation, the Marine quarters was a low five star hotel surrounding an Olympic sized swimming pool. A full sized rifle range, assault course, gymnasium and drill field were there to make sure no one got fat.

The hundred and nine men from the other three turrets soon joined with Ace's double Rifle Platoon. So Ace soon found himself commanding a combined force of nearly two hundred troops.

He took the parade and explained quite simply that they were now a Combined Rifle Company under Marine control and discipline.

When they saw the difference between their own barren lives and the love shared by the Platoon and the WA, many gave thoughts to finding a girl of their own. And at least on the Texas there was enough room.

Ace and Enryn were soon drilling their friends around the new base, and running the assault course.

Only now the gloves were off, and Gyor gave them all the help she could to enhance their strength and stamina. The potion she had given to the girls months ago had helped save their lives, the next one was far more powerful.

Ace and Enryn were soon racing around the assault course in half the time it should have taken them, with the double platoon only seconds behind them. Fae usually ran with them, laughing in glee as her new claws bit into the obstacles and propelled her half way to the next one.

They were only slightly disappointed when the Percivals lapped them, the whole family, including Gyor.

The city was still almost empty, and with the coming war it was likely to stay that way for quite some time. The Texas had been built as a mobile administrative centre for the future empire of Earth. And not to battle pirates. So the civilian sectors were still shut down.

Doctor Parsnus had set up office with Ison, using the Texas's advanced labs to find a way to fight the Lords, with a dozen volunteers from the rescued slaves . Eileen was furious that she hadn't built a ram on the ship, it was the only weapon she hadn't included and the only one with a slight chance of working. If she went back to Earth she could grow one in about a year.

The former slaves of the pirates were encouraged fill in helping at what ever they could do, and that was a lot, most were highly educated men and women from across the galaxy. The women now far out numbered the male population, but many were glad to take a break from men for a while.

After weeks of window shopping and dating the turret crews did manage to find girlfriends and settle down, even if it was two each.

General Jones was soon sporting the tall black girl he had rescued on his arm, she was stately but callused on her neck, wrists and mind. Her ears were about three inches longer than normal but other than that she looked quite human; she had gone from a living nightmare into a world she didn't understand, and hung on to Jones's arm in desperation.

After a month Gyor opened a portal to Aeden and recovered the rest of the Iowa's crew, and June and Bob Percival. It went a long way to sorting out the sexual imbalance on the Texas. Her former lovers had settled on her Estate in Aeden, and were getting used to a new life without fear.

Ace and Enryn watched the kids trying to sleep wrapped with their chain and collars. "Aea, Bea," Enryn sighed. "Don't you realise by now that you don't need a chain for a safety blanket? We will not separate you."

"We want to give you a life," Ace insisted. "To teach you to run and play, to swim and laugh. You can't do that in chains."

The children looked fearfully at each other.

"When you are ready," Ace sighed.

"But you are starting school soon," Enryn laughed. "So I wouldn't take too long."

"We will still belong to you?" Bea gasped fearfully.

"Yes Bea, you belong to us," Ace insisted.

"Forever!" Aea begged.

"Yes, forever," Enryn sobbed. "We'll not let you go."

"Well alright then," Bea gasped.

Ace reached down and pulled the collars off the kids, revealing deeply callused necks. "I'll hang this on your door, in case you need it."

They sat up touching their necks in wonder, and turned to embrace Ace and Enryn for the first time, sobbing quietly. "You know Ace, I think we have a ready made family."

"And a nice one at that," he laughed. "And Fae makes five."

"You know, we really should do something about that girl."

"I think we've put it off long enough," Ace agreed. "If she wants to belong to us she can earn her keep," he laughed.

They returned to their bedroom to find Fae pretending to sleep in the middle of their oversized bed. Grinning they lay down on either side of the sport, holding her firmly, possessively. "Love me," she purred.

A week later the Marines were having a family picnic on the lawn outside their headquarters. Most were sunning themselves with their partners, or playing ball, eating snacks, burning a barbeque and drinking beer.

Oana and her partner were playing with Sharral, the woman who had bought her, and the children. In a couple of months Oana had gone from a slave to a mistress to a warrior to a friend and was now a surrogate mother to the two kids. And in a few months she would be having a child of her own. She was having a busy life.

Enryn was pleased to notice that there was no ill will between Oana and her former mistress, both had done things they regretted to the other out of desperation. And Sharral was now sharing a life of love for the first time, without the abuse her husband had enjoyed inflicting on her and the children.

Ace was setting the picnic table as Enryn and the kids, who were all wearing swimsuits and shorts, played with a Frisbee. Fae kept stalking through the ornamental bushes to leap on the Frisbee in mid air, and the kids would chase after her laughing. For one moment he knew perfect bliss, sharing a look of love with his mate.

And then Gyor and En-eta walked over, with three strangers.

Enryn looked up in worry, seeing a lovely brunette carrying a three year old girl, and dragging a roguish looking boy of about seven by his hand. But all were dressed in rags, dirty and scared.

The woman wore what was left of a business suit, her silken shirt had the buttons replaced by a cross laced leather thong, her knee length skirt was jagged at the hem and torn up both sides, her jacket had been patched by whatever scraps she had managed to scrounge, and she had an old knife half hidden down an oversized army boot, and it was not for show.

The boy's clothing was hardly any better, and the girl's dress looked to have been sewn from an old uniform.

"What's up Gyor?" Ace sighed, he could smell trouble too.

"Nothing really."

Now they did start to worry.

"It's just that I know you need help with running the base. You're good Ace, but only one man."

"And this is your solution?" Enryn gestured to the strangers.

"I sort of found Rosa. Well to be honest I told the computer to find an office manager who was qualified to run this Base, and it selected her."

"I heard you had millions of refugees in stasis," Ace sighed. "But I didn't expect this."

"No Gunny, not millions, billions of unwanted human souls that we saved but can't help. There is nothing we can do but store them for a hundred years, or a million."

Enryn sighed, "Okay Rosa, what's your story?"

"Please give me a chance to catch up," she sighed, her accent was intelligent and cultured, but trembled with desperation. "An hour ago I was being hunted in a war zone. Then we were saved and placed in stasis, and taken right out and brought here. I'm still dazed."

"You were in stasis for nearly twenty years," Gyor told the horrified woman. "Carry on."

"I was owned by a very rich man to run his factories, with a work force of over a hundred thousand. And I was happy, I loved him and his wife and their daughter." She held the three year old blond kid. "Then it was all over in an instant, the house as destroyed in the opening seconds of a war we didn't even know about. My masters both died before my eyes, I grabbed Aquilla and ran for my life. I've been running ever since though a war and the terrible aftermath. Rastus here tried to steal our food, and when I caught him we decided to stick together; he's been feeding us for the last two years."

"You can run the administration side, pay, leave, training and so on?" Ace asked.

"In my sleep sir," she gasped. "Look, this is my only chance to avoid being put back in stasis," she begged. "And to keep my kids."

"Accept Rosa and she will do her job well," Gyor insisted, "take her into you home and she will do it far better, accept her into your hearts and she will be devoted to you both."

"Do you wish to serve us?" Enryn asked.

"In any way you wish lady," Rosa sobbed.

Enryn and Ace looked at each other with a mutual sigh, then nodded. "Rosa, strip, you and the children," Enryn snapped. "We want to know what we are getting."

With reluctance Rosa stripped off until she stood naked before them, struggling not to hide herself from her master's gaze, as she lifted her arms and turned before them. Her figure was spectacular, though dirty and scarred. Then she undressed the children, showing that they too were fit and healthy.

"Rosa," Ace said mildly, "there is a bin behind you, dump your clothing in it."

"Yes master," she sobbed. "Does this mean you will accept us?" She dropped all the dirty clothing in the bin, and walked back to kneel before them.

Enryn sighed with relief on seeing the last of the rags vanish into the bin, certain that they held lots of things she did not want to take home. "There is a swimming pool near here with a shower section, I want you all to bathe there, and then come back dry. Then we will decide if we want you."

Rosa took the children to the pool as Enryn and Ace laughed with Gyor.

"She's priceless," Ace laughed. "Intelligent, talented, brave and quite lovely."

"Just think of all the paperwork we can dump on her," Enryn gasped.

"I wasn't kidding about being devoted to you," Gyor insisted. "She was designed to be the perfect Personal Assistant, and to love her masters. But the devotion she gave to saving Aquilla did surprise me. It took a lot of courage to protect a baby not her own in a war zone, and I dread to think how many times she had to use that knife."

"And to turn that little thief Rastus into her personal scout," Enryn laughed. "I'm impressed."

Fae and the twins returned with a basket of food and some bottles of wine a few minutes before Rosa came back with her kids. They were all clean and dry for the first time since their war, but approached with apprehension to learn their destinies.

"Sit and help yourself," Ace laughed. "It looks like you're stopping."

"Then may we dress master?" Rosa sobbed in relief.

"No Rosa," Enryn insisted, "you will enter our home as you are, owning nothing. When you earn the right then we will give you everything you need."

"This is a party," Ace explained, "not a formal ball. You are dressed to fit in." He gestured to where a dozen or more Marines, male and female were sunning themselves in the synthetic light.

"My duties, will they also be sexual? I'm sorry, but I have to know. It's been such a long time," she sobbed.

Enryn gasped, "If you earn the right, yes they will be. We might also include Fae in the deal."

Rosa looked at the sport in surprise. "She is then a member of your family?"

"And so could you be, and your kids, if you please us," Ace laughed.

"I hope to learn to please you both," Rosa sobbed and opened a bottle of wine, pouring a glass each, before tasting it with appreciation. "Soon." She served her kids a double portion of chicken, and they started to wolf it down as though they hadn't eaten in a week.

Enryn saw the small portion Rosa had served herself, and dumped most of the fried chicken before the starving woman, apologising, "We didn't expect five extra guests."

Gyor saw the problem and fixed it with a click of her figures, creating a second banquet of roast beef, gravy and all the trimmings, including French bread and the best wine.

Rosa saw the miracle with disbelief, but was too shaken to comment.

"That was nothing Rosa," Ace laughed, "you want to see her create a Cathedral!"

As the aroma of roast beef wafted around the picnic area, and the Marines finally gave up on the barbeque, they drifted over to say hello, and each walked off with a beef and onion sandwich dripping in gravy.

They downed a few drinks each, and even Rosa started to relax, and saw Fae playing with the Marines, chasing something small a furry up a tree.

Ace called out, "Leave the Squirrel alone Fae."

She climbed back down the tree, "I was only looking."

"Ace dear," Enryn sighed, "I really don't think we should have any more pets. You know, fish or birds?"

A few minutes later Sal, Ceri and a few Marines walked over laughing. Sal chuckled, "We've been discussing something Gunny, don't you think we need a mascot?"

"It's good for moral," Ceri insisted.

Ace could sense a disaster approaching like a runaway express. He closed his eyes, gasping, "What have you in mind? I don't see any goats around here."

"Fae," Sal insisted. "She'd be great."

The girl preened herself, extended one three inch claw from her index finger and skewered the last piece of chicken from the basket. "Can I Gunny?"

"But what will she wear?" Enryn gasped.

Ace snapped, "No, you are not going on parade naked!"

"The Marine Corps will have a fit," Enryn laughed. "But she is technicaly an alien animal."

"If you truly want this Fae," Ace sighed.

"Then from now on you will never be naked in public, to avoid scandalising the Marine Corps," Enryn snapped. "I don't care what you wear, no, hold that. I'll tell you what to wear from now on!"

"Fae, run home and find a pair of shorts and a T-shirt," Ace laughed. "We'll get you fixed up properly on the way home."

Gyor was laughing so hard she nearly fell off her chair. "One on the reasons I love humans is that you always blunder from disaster to catastrophe at a moment's notice."

"And your kind don't have disasters?" Enryn asked.

"Oh, we certainty do, but it takes a couple of thousand years of careful debate before we finally screw up."

Rosa was smiling but looked confused. "If you have a nudity taboo, why are we wearing nothing?"

"So that you will realise that you are safe, you could walk through the city naked and no one will bother you." Enryn laughed, "Rosa here you are safe!"

Gyor gestured to the Marines, "And they will fight to the death to protect you!"

"And that reminds me," Ace laughed and turned to the identical twins. "Aea, Bea, now you are talking, what are you called?"

"But, you named us," Bea gasped.

"We gave you slave names when we didn't think we were keeping you," Enryn explained. "Now we want to know what you are called."

"Arlena and Betha," one of the girls gasped. "That's not the real way to say it, but we would be happy."

"Our real names end with a lot of Zs and Ks, you'd swallow your tongue trying to pronounce them correctly, but your version is much more fun."

"How can we tell the difference?" Rosa asked.

"You can't," they replied in unison.

Rosa laughed, "You've only just adopted them? I thought... Then what of my kids?"

"Apollina and Rastus will be living in the same home, going to the same school, playing the same games, and probably fighting all the time, just like a real family," Ace laughed. "Enryn and I will be away on extended duty a lot, so we'll expect you to look after all four of them, and Fae."

"Fae likes sleeping all day if we let her," Enryn laughed. "And she loves the kids so much if they don't want to go to school she'll write their sick notes herself."

"Oh, she will, will she?" Rosa sighed. "Now I see why you need me."

"Consider yourself part of the family," Enryn laughed.

"Will we be sl..."

"Stop that now!" Ace snapped. "We just told you, while you're with us you are family. No bowing or scraping, no yes sir, no sir. Call us by name and if you think we're making a mistake, then for heaven's sake tell us!"

"Then I think you are making a mistake," she laughed, "you're too bloody soft!"

"Good girl," Gyor applauded. "Now I've something important to say."

Ace sighed, "Why have I a feeing of imminent disaster?"

"Experience, bitter experience," Enryn laughed wryly.

"Are you two finished? Thank you. You know my hobby with slaves?"

"The Press once called you a slave breeder," Ace sighed.

"Nonsense, well, I never bred slaves. Well, at least... Okay then. I usually had a couple of slaves bound to my bed, sometimes two girls but more often a man and woman. Anyway, I'd spend a few years teaching them to please me, and each other. For some reason they usually fell in love, a few years of mutual and concurrent orgasms might have something to do with that, but I never got around to proving that theory. So I'd marry them and they would start a family. But I wouldn't call that slave breeding, would you?"

"Cottage industry, rather than industrialised brutality," Ace sighed. "Don't forget I was on Yag-Urth and helped rescue your ex lovers."

"Yes, well now I've got En-eta back I'm looking for a new hobby."

"Oh God help us all," Ace gasped.

"Lady Gyor, I really don't think we need any more training," Enryn gasped.

"You do, but I'm sure Rosa will take that in hand. No, I'm planning to study the Marines. Because I want to make you the best in this galaxy. I want to prevent wars by making you the most dangerous force their is."

"There's a reason for this?" Ace gasped.

"There most certainly is, we've just found out that the so called Lords of All are of Extra Galactic origin. The bloody idiots are trying to invade my galaxy!"

"I wouldn't take it personally," Enryn gasped. "I'm sure they've never heard of you."

"That is a matter easily put right," Gyor said grimly, "right after I declare war on them!"

They returned home, picking up a few things for the new members on the way back. Arlena, Betha, Apollina and Rastus were soon kitted out and looking happy at being spoilt rotten.

But Rosa looked on in worry as her kids came to love two strangers. Then Enryn borrowed Sal and Ceri, and they disappeared into a dress shop with Rosa. Ace could only laugh wryly and take the kids home. Playing and bonding with the children, while wondering what it was going to cost him.

It was three hours later when Enryn and Rosa came home, both slightly drunk, but very happy and loaded down with shopping. "We met Gyor and En-eta in the mall," Enryn laughed. "So we had a six girl heart to heart, night out. You know, that seven foot tall dynamo is just a big softy at heart. And I've never seen such love. All her immortal life she's been searching for love, in all the wrong places, and then a couple of her ex slaves bought En-eta to say thank you for all she had done for them."

Rosa pushed the shopping through the door, and then formally entered her new home. "You said that if I enter your home naked you will provide all that I need."

"And we shall," Ace chuckled.

"Then hold me, by the gods, hold me!" she sobbed as the drinks finally washed away years of iron self control. "It's been so long."

Fae led the kids from the room, glancing back with a knowing smile.

Ace and Enryn held the shaking woman, as she started to cry with an ever increasing stream of tears.

"Let it go," Enryn sighed. "Here you are safe and loved, no one will threaten you again."

"Cry Rosa, let the tears heal your heart," Ace sighed.

"I know I've not earned the right," Rosa sobbed, "but could I sleep with you, just this once?"

"I think we can give you an advance," Ace laughed.

"Sleep with us my sister," Enryn sighed. "Cry if you must to heal your heart."

It was the early hours before Rosa stopped crying, and learnt what it meant to belong to a loving couple.

They woke late and dressed Rosa in a business suit, and Enryn offered her a combat knife in a plush leather sheath that looked to match her dress. "If you ever need this, then use it with pride."

"Then I am not a slave?" Rosa sobbed as she slid the knife onto her belt at her left hip.

"Whoever said that you were?" Ace laughed.

They showed her around the base and the rules and regulations regarding the Marines, then the exercising Joint Rifle Company.

"If you want to understand us," Ace offered, "we can fit you in with the PE classes, and the unarmed combat course."

"We might even show you how to use that knife," Enryn stated.

"The exercise I could use," Rosa agreed, "but don't try and turn me into a Marine."

"Perish the thought," Ace laughed. "We need you here safe and sound to keep the Marines going if we fail to return. One day you might have to recruit, train and deploy our replacements."

"That is a terrifying thought," Rosa gasped. "Then this is all real?"

"The survival of the Galaxy might well rest upon the decisions you make," Enryn sighed. "Ace and I are simple soldiers, most of this is beyond us. We know how to fight and how to die. But big business and galactic politics is way out of our league."

"The Percival family are the best, but even they will need good advice now and then."

"I'm just a simple girl," Rosa gasped. "I never asked for this."

"Neither did we," Ace sighed.

A month later John, Isralla and Eileen came to watch the Rifle Company drilling, as Sal was teaching Fae to act like a mascot in a short military type, double breasted, dress with lots of shiny buttons and gold braid. Gyor and En-eta were watching with silent approval.

Ace and Enryn walked over after the men had been dismissed, "So what have you got for us?" Ace asked.

"A new type of carbine," Eileen gloated. "It took us weeks to figure it out. But you can now fire wooden darts that will penetrate the Warrior's shields."

"Hell," Gyor sighed, "it only took Enryn about two seconds to come up with that idea."

"And what about having shields of your own?" Eileen snapped. "Then it will be a face to face showdown."

Enryn sighed, "The Warriors we can handle, it's the ships that are giving us nightmares. Can you tell us how to handle them?"

"Not yet," Eileen sighed. "That is a problem of an entirely different magnitude."

"Try putting the Marines in a spear and throwing them at a ship," Fae laughed.

Eileen struck her head hard, "That's about the best idea we've had to date."

"Then you must be really struggling," Enryn gasped.

"No, I mean it. We can build a ship out of wood, or cellulose, big enough to fit you. But with no metal or electronics at all, and that means no weapons or navigation, so I'm stumped again."

"What about a spear thrower?" Enryn gasped. "Fae, run home and bring the spear thrower."

Enryn gave a demonstration on the range, throwing a lance with and without a spear thrower. With the thrower the lance went twice as far, was twice as accurate, and hit twice as hard. "Eileen, would that help?"

"Not for throwing an assault ship, but the idea is sound. I could cobble up a high speed ship with no weapons but lots of shields, something to throw you through the enemy's shields. But you'd still never penetrate their hull."

Rosa gasped, "Sorry if this is not my place, but I have an idea from back home."

"We're waiting," Ace laughed.

"You can't carry normal weapons, but what about a chemical explosive in the nose? A sort of shaped charge?"

"You're talking about an anti tank shell," Ace laughed. "We'd be riding our way into hell behind a jet of plasma hotter than the Sun, in a wooden ship."

"Well, I'm sorry Gunny."

"No," Enryn laughed, "it's a great idea."

"If we can get inside their ships we can take the shields down from the inside," Ace laughed.

"Right," Eileen sighed, "and with your own shields you're going to need a better method of fighting through two lots of shields. I'm sorry to bring this up, and I'm sure you'll hate me for the idea, but what about carrying swords?"

John laughed, "I didn't like the idea at first, but now I never leave mine at home. I'm sure we can whip up some that will slice through their shields without a problem."

Isralla chuckled, "Just imaging meeting the Warriors face to face, and slicing them to bits without them being able to fight back."

Enryn gasped, "I think we've just put them on the endangered species list."

Ace laughed, "This will work. But I've had another idea for when this is over. Lady Gyor?"

"Ace, can't you and Enryn call me Gee?"

"Right, Gee. I was thinking about your problem with too many refugees, can you tell us more?"

"All right. We save them by the thousand every day, but we are fighting a war and so don't have a safe place to put them. All we do have is hundreds of asteroids fitted out with millions of stasis tubes in each, and there they sleep through eternity, waiting for us to find a place for them to call home."

"And you found Rosa and her kids there," Enryn sighed. "That was quite a feat finding just the right person."

"It was far from an accident," Gyor laughed. "The search program was very specific. I asked it to find a partner you can both love and respect without shame, out of billions. I think it was spot on. Children, you all need each other."

Enryn, Ace and Rosa looked at each other in shock as Gyor's words struck deeply into their hearts. "We'll talk this over tonight," Ace sighed. "Gee, you were saying?"

"We save them from across space-time, from thousands of worlds and abuse of every kind. Some of the greatest number come from World War Two, which happened in many realities. The Nazi death camps gassed millions, on twenty or more time lines. So we saved them. The gas chambers were real, but the gas and the guards were not. The victims fell asleep and are sleeping still in stasis."

"That was what I was thinking," Ace gasped. "Look, we've been finding empty worlds by the hundred. Why don't we start to fill them with refugees? Eileen, could you build a mobile replicator? A ship that can build whole villages across a continent?"

"You're talking of swooping down and replicating a small village, and dropping off a few hundred refugees?" she gasped in surprise. "And then doing it a hundred or more times! You bet I could. Hell Ace, I could build them a city."

"You'll need to start with farms," Enryn insisted. "The cities they can build themselves."

"We've slaves of a thousand kinds looking for a second chance," Gyor gasped. "We even found a whole Chinese fleet full of children that had been sent by their crazy Emperor to find his way to heaven. And when they didn't find it they were too terrified to go home. The fleet was on the verge of sinking when we snatched it up, along with thousands of the most beautiful children picked from across China. And we still don't know what to do with them, you can't build a civilisation with nothing but kids."

"They we can't help either," Enryn insisted. "But we could build a world that can help them."

"So we colonise the galaxy," John laughed, "making way for Earth to help out and still keep control."

"No John," Ace insisted, "this is beyond the Earth now. We colonise the galaxy and you keep control!"

Enryn sighed, "Your family are the only people we truly trust."

John sighed, "Ralla dear, I think they are ready."

Isralla gasped warmly, "Gunny, Enryn, Rosa and Fae, we are about to offer you a prize beyond measure, how would you like to extend your lives by hundreds, if not thousands of years?"

"Join your family to ours," Gyor insisted, "and you will see the birth of a new galaxy."

"And my platoons?" Ace gasped.

"Most of them will follow you into eternity," Eileen sighed, "but it will be up to you who to trust. We are offering you the chance to change the galaxy, to help bring peace to all."

"I'm going to need more men and women. And I can't see the Marine Corps being too helpful."

"Leave that to me Ace," Gyor laughed. "I'm sure I can find you some reinforcements, how many do you need for now?"

"I'd say another hundred," Enryn stated. "Fifty of each if you can manage it."

"I've plenty of professional Marines who took the wrong side in a war," Gyor laughed. "Nearly all male though, but there are a lot of female bodyguards, the type a rich man would pick to guard his harem, and they are very tough."

"Sounds good," Ace laughed. "Rosa, are you taking this down?"

"I'm memorising every word Ace," she sighed.

"Thanks. Gee, bring me a hundred of the best you have, and a drill instructor. I'm going to be too busy organising our little war."

Enryn called out, "Eileen, before you go, we're going to need some better shuttles for planetary assault."

"Then you'd better come with me and tell me what you need."

Ace, Enryn and Rosa walked with the Percivals towards Eileen's office over her industrial sized replicator, as Fae scampered after a squirrel, laughing at how simple humans could be. One word from her and they knew how to fight the Lords of All.

The new craft for the Marines would be far faster than the old Landers, with lots of shields and weapons and a small faster than light drive. They would also be capable of being reconfigured into ground assault vehicles, while swinging their main cannons to a shoulder mounted position for indirect bombardment.

So they got faster than light armoured personnel carriers with mobile artillery platforms in the same bundle. Eileen had the specs and started to work them into a working vehicle.

During the conference Isralla offered them the treatment that would extend their lives and make them far harder to kill. She nipped their necks testing them, and then bit deeply, injecting thousands of nanobots onto their bloodstreams.

Ace gasped as he felt the microscopic robots swirling through his veins, "Is there a reason for this? Or are you trying to make people think you're vampires?"

"We've done that before today," Gyor laughed. "I once had a whole army sharpening stakes and carrying Holy water, and I'd play along, hiding from crosses and sunlight. That was a lot of fun."

"Did they see the joke?" Ace gasped.

"Those I let live, which wasn't many."

En-eta laughed, "For some reason a seven foot tall Mage didn't scare them, but a vampire did scare them to death."

"Especially after I started tearing their throats out," Gyor chuckled. "Well, I had to make it look good."

John sighed, "On that world it is the evil who fear the night."

Enryn and Rosa were holding each other in shock as the nanobots took up residence in their bodies, analysing the state of health and repairing all damage at a molecular level. It wasn't true immortality, but could extend their lives by several hundred years at least, and heal all but instantly lethal wounds.

After lunch at the Percival residence, and a chance to get to know them off duty, Ace, Enryn and Rosa walked back to the Base to see a hundred new recruits marching around the parade ground. They all wore black pants and white T-shirts, fifty men and fifty women, who looked very professional. They did march well but it was clear the women used to have other duties than pounding concrete with their boots.

The drill instructor was a grizzled veteran in his fifties, who called out across the parade ground with a voice that could have been used to warn ship at sea of fog and sharp rocks.

"We're in luck," Gyor laughed, "I found these in storage, a rich man's private army. I suspect the girls were meant to warm his bed as well as die for him, some people have no taste."

"So what happed?" Ace gaped.

"Their master chose the wrong side in a war, and they had to pay for his mistake, they'd all been crucified when our agent found them- hanging on metal crosses waiting to die in agony. Luckily we have a lot of influence on Terra, and our Agent pulled a few strings to save them. You can't blame them, they're Biroids, synthetic life forms. Biological Androids if you like, without the ability to say no to their master."

Up close most of the women were nearly six feet tall, and the men about seven. But two, a boy and girl, only looked about fourteen, and looked badly abused and terrified. All were muscled in the extreme, attractive and dedicated. "And to think Gyor did this in a couple of hours," Ace sighed.

"Hell," Enryn laughed, "knowing her she probably had it planned a month ago."

The two leaders were Favian and Bellona, who had worked together for a long time, as had their troops, both were tall with very short blond hair and steely blue eyes; they were professional and confused.

"You're working for us now," Ace insisted. "I'm promoting you both to sergeants and giving thought to taking you with us on permanent assignment."

"My girls sir?" Bellona asked politely.

"They will all continue training here," Enryn stated, "with our own Marines. But you both need to see the real galaxy, and we need to know we can trust you."

"Our duties?" Favian asked in confusion.

"For now we will be conducting hit and run raids against the enemy, while we test their defences and our own technology. So I'm hoping to keep you both busy. You'll have to learn as you go, and teach your own squads when you get back."

The Tribune in charge of the new troops had arranged to take over one of the barracks, and so he had fifty men sleeping down one side and fifty women on the other, with shared showers and mess.

Enryn was waiting for the sexual explosion that never came.

Gyor finally explained that as they were artificial life forms, they were not built to interact in that way. And so Enryn told the Mage to fix it.

Gyor did fix the problem, but not the years of training they had gone through, so it was months before the sexual tension began to boil over.

Following Gyor's declaration that she had selected Rosa to serve them because she was the only one out of billions who they could love, the family was living on tender hooks, constantly thinking they were being set up.

It wasn't Rosa's fault, she was a genuine woman who needed love badly, she'd been designed that way. She was as much a Biroid as Favian and Bellona, but had spent far longer learning to think for herself in a war zone, and with a synthetic IQ of nearly three hundred she could think very well indeed.

Enryn, Ace and Rosa were walking back home across the lawn outside the Base and saw Gyor sitting cross legged on the grass as a cloud of hornets flew around her head, she snapped her fingers and they vanished. Then Gyor started to call up a new spell.

En-eta sat a hundred meters away, reading an old leather bound tome on a picnic bench. She called them over to sit with her.

"Okay," Enryn sighed, "what's she up to this time?"

"Just housekeeping," En-eta laughed, "there's no need to panic on this occasion. Gee's only casting her favourite spells and saving them. You know, just like a computer program? Open the program, do whatever you want with it and then save the result. So all she needs to do is open the file to cast the spell."

"Sounds simple," Ace sighed. "Do all Mages use the same system?"

"Not on your life, Isralla and Ison are only just getting the hang of it. And no other that I know of have even heard of it. This is a Gyor special."

"I'm still getting used to the idea of magic," Rosa gasped. "How powerful is lady Gyor?"

En-eta's face lit up with a mysterious grin. "The first time I saw her she was walking through the market at home in the town and country of Orissia, and an entire army of the Soomish Lagar Empire of the High People came marching through in the opposite direction. They were taking a short cut to pacify another small kingdom, so they were on a war footing.

"The General, he was nearly eight foot tall, covered in enchanted armour and medals, surrounded by a squad of combat Mages and trailed by ten thousand of Yag-Urth's finest warriors; well, he took one look at lady Gyor and pulled his army to one side to let her pass.

"She just smiled politely and forgot about it."

"That sounds like Gyor," Ace laughed.

"If you don't mind me asking," Enryn sighed, "how did you become Gyor's slave?"

"Not at all like you think, and not at all like she thinks either," En-eta laughed. "Can you keep a secret?" she asked with eagerness. "I've been dieing to tell the truth for four years."

"I'm listening," Enryn gasped.

"I'm not a slave, or at least not in the way you think. How old do you think I am?"

"You look seventeen or eighteen," Ace laughed. "But I'm sure you're way past that."

"Put another zero and a few more years on that," she laughed.

Rosa gasped, "A hundred and eighty- two hundred!"

"That sounds about right, but we don't keep count like your kind. Could you have a birthday every day? We are as old as we feel, and I feel like a teenager. Anyway, I told you about first seeing Gyor facing down the army, so I became fascinated with her. She was a hobby. I talked to her few friends, followed her two marriages. And saw her buying slaves to heal a broken heart when they both failed. When I first saw her buying a slavegirl I was shaken, knowing to what use a virgin could be put. I'd some crazy idea of spell components or sacrifice.

"I watched her for years in fascination and disgust, and finally met some of the slaves she had freed and married. Ace, you remember the shop where we first met? The twin women who owned it? She had bought them years ago, when they didn't even know the other sister was still alive. And taught them to please her, and each other wearing blindfolds. It was only when they had both learned how to please each other very well that she removed their blind folds that they finally realised they were sisters. They have slept together every night since.

"I was outraged at first. But they loved her, and each other. When she freed them she also married them, gave them two slave children to adopt and a dowry big enough to start their leather business. She did the same with most of her former slaves. They were so grateful when their business started making money they tried to send her a percentage, which she returned every year. I got to be good friends with them, and started to envy them. Then I had a bright idea! I offered to let them give me to Gyor as a slave.

"They were shocked! But I finally persuaded them to listen. Finally they dressed me in a leather harness and dragged me before lady Gyor, expecting her to send me back to them.

"She took one look at me and carried me gently to her bedroom and showed me how to please her. I thought she might only keep me for a few years, like her other slaves. But I was devoted to her, I'd loved her for decades without realising it.

"Anyway, she dressed me and undressed me, in whatever way she liked and I felt very special. Then one day she came home with a few simple dresses, I was no longer dressed as a slave but as a free woman, and it was only then that I realised she loved me."

Ace laughed in admiration, "En-eta, you are one devious woman!"

"You what!" Gyor gasped from across the lawn as the spell shattered into a prismatic cloud that was lit by a hundred tiny flashes of lightning. She stood thunderous as the cloud exploded into black soot. "You lied to me!"

"I think I'd better run for it," En-eta gasped. She slipped from her gown to flee across the Base in a simple shift, as Gyor chased after her in rage.

"Do you think Gee will ever forgive her?" Enryn laughed.

"I'm sure she will, eventually," Ace chuckled, "but they'll have a lot of fun first."

Rosa gasped, "And she's been hiding this for four years!"

"That girl deserves Gyor," Enryn insisted.

"She's just as devious," Ace agreed. "That poor woman spent decades looking for a slave to control, and it never occurred to her that there might be a free person who could love her."

"And you Ace," Enryn sighed, "after your marrige ended, how many years did you hide from the world?"

"But I didn't hide Enryn, I was waiting for you," he said wistfully. "It's just a pity you were on the wrong planet."

Rosa laughed in admiration, "That was a good answer."

The first of the Assault Shuttles were delivered two days later, Eileen had taken the basic design and tweaked it up into a ship that would work.

They had been classed as EESs. The basic ship came in two parts, the first was an FTL drive section, with a long rang habitation module and a two man bridge, four defence turrets and a plasma cannon. But the second ship held the Assault section, with an armoured division for a full forty man Rifle Platoon, and six armoured combat cars folded against the body.

The combat section seemed to crouch on four weapon pods, the first two underneath the cab, containing the direct fire weapons, and the second at the rear holding the missiles and cannons for indirect fire. The pilot touched a switch and the weapon pods swung up towards the back, leaving two sets of tracks in their place, and the weapon pods now fixed for bombardment role. From being a fighter she had converted over to a mobile artillery piece, and then the six combat cars swung down to take four man fire teams into combat. So the combat cars would scout out the enemy and call in to ask the artillery to sort them out.

They were two completely separate ships, with the drive section only there to get the APC into and out of the war zone.

John called the Marines to order, he was an Ex-Lieutenant, if only with the Army, and so they listened politely. "We have a mission scheduled in four days, I'm going with my wife, and we thought it only polite to ask a few of you to accompany us."

"We're only taking the one ESS," Ace called out, "a few places have been filled already, but I'm asking for volunteers. You, you and you!"

"Have a heart Gunny," Sal sighed. "Can't you tell us what the mission is first?"

Isralla took over, "We've got wind of a base, it's not large but we don't think it should exist."

Enryn continued, "This is basically a training mission, or live firing exercise if you want. We go in, test our gear and come home when they are all dead. Sal and Ceri, you're with me. Favian and Bellona like wise."

"If you don't mind?" Favian asked. "I'm not sure of your customs, but I'd like to suggest we name the ESS, Janus, the God of Beginnings?"

John chuckled, "A fortuitous name."

Eileen began to issue the new carbines and suits of mesh armour that was as light and comfortable as silk, and far stronger than steel; it would be worn underneath their normal body armour.

The Janus exited hyperspace and flew in towards the dark moon, and separated from the drive module, which turned tail and fled to the outer edges of the system.

Then the pilot flew the Assault Shuttle around to the far side of the moon, falling towards the barren surface. They levelled out at a hundred meters and flew slowly through the dusty canyons and baked mountains.

For three thousand miles they crept around the tiny world, well below detection range.

Then a hundred miles from the target the Janus touched down on the dusty plane, and raised her weapon pods to ground assault mode, leaving her on two sets of tracks, and they drove through the night towards the target.

Ace and Enryn were trying to sleep with her head resting on his shoulder, as they swerved around boulders and craters. John and Isralla were in the cab, helping the driver to navigate through a maze of canyons.

Sal and Ceri sat at the weapons consoles, carefully watching for hostiles in their screens. While the rest of the Platoon tried to sleep.

It was only Favian and Bellona who looked apprehensive, they were both warriors who had been picked to fight on the wrong side in a war. It was never a choice, their masters had chosen to betray the Empire and tried to assassinate the future Empress, and failed miserably, but thousands had died in the war and they took the fall.

They were crucified in the corridor on the Ship Daedalus, with the rest of their comrades, and hung in agony for hours awaiting death, when an anonymous man ordered them all to be freed and turned over to his organisation.

An ordinary ship took them to a distant planet, in about five seconds! There they were placed in stasis, and the sheer scale on the asteroid storage vault was depressing, with millions held in eternal sleep; they were unsure if they would ever be revived.

Then they were revived, it could have been one second later or a thousand years.

But the new world they found was far from the one they had left, the Empire of Terra was lost in time and space, and now they found themselves on the other side of the galaxy about to start yet another war.

Typical!

"We really are the good guys," Enryn chuckled.

"Good, bad, what's the difference?" Bellona sighed. "We always get shafted no matter who wins."

"Not this time," Ace yawned. "I'm sure you're good soldiers, and I'm looking forward to finding out how good, but this time you're working for the Percivals, and they look after their own."

"You will be treated as Marines," Enryn insisted, "and have all of the duties and responsibilities that go with the territory, but also all the perks. That means you can have a life of your own. Off duty."

"I'm still not sure what that means," Favian sighed. "You don't have a brothel, or anywhere we can let off steam. So what are we supposed to do?"

"Oh boy," Enryn sighed in shock, "why do you need a brothel? Anything you need is right under your noses." She gestured to Bellona.

"We can't do that!" the woman gasped in outrage. "We could never manage to do that, it's indecent." But they had done that before, once their master had ordered Favian to rape Bellona for fun, and both Biroids had never forgotten the pain and shame as two close friends had fought and committed crimes against each other they would never forget. Favian never had a chance to refuse, he was just a toy to his master, bred to live and die at a whim. But Bellona had been created to be abused by her master, as well as to die for him. They were not even human, they were just a rich man's playthings.

Ace sighed, "I hope you won't mind if Enryn and I scandalise your sensibilities? But we're as good as married, and will be just as soon as we can make it back to Earth."

"Half our Marines are in relationships with other Marines," Enryn explained, "and I'm hoping for a joint wedding when we reach Earth." She gestured to Sal and Ceri, "I'm hoping they will decide to join with us. Though I'm not too sure about who's going to wear white."

Ace chuckled, "It could be one hell of a wedding, with eighty couples in Marine dress uniforms, no-one will know who the brides are."

"You don't understand," Favian sighed, "we can't do that, it's not allowed."

"It is now," Enryn laughed.

"No, we can make it with prostitutes, bred the same as we," Bellona insisted. "Male or female, it doesn't matter. But to have sex with a fellow professional is unthinkable, our DNA won't allow it. We can't even make it with a human, unless they command us to please them."

"Genetic control," Ace gasped sadly.

"Well, forget it," Enryn chuckled, "the game has changed and the odds are now stacked in your favour."

Favian gasped, "What do you mean?"

"You'll find out, when you're ready," Ace chuckled.

The target was a collection of low domes and a few decrepit ships in a deep crater that had a force screen keeping a breathable atmosphere sealed off from the depths of space.

The Janus crouched behind a wall of jagged rock, sinking from sight of the target, as the Marines spread out to cover the area with sensors and carbines.

One of the combat cars swung down to take off position, John, Isralla, Ace and Enryn climbed aboard. Then Ace asked Favian and Bellona to accompany them.

Pulling on merchant clothing over their armored bodysuits, they sealed the combat-car and skimmed off into the eternal night.

"Okay, so what do we know for sure?" Ace asked simply. "This doesn't look like the sort of place the Lords would frequent."

"Only that their Warriors are here all the time, and that I don't like," John sighed. "This system is too close to too many advanced races, the ones that scare them."

"So you think it's a staging post?" Enryn asked.

"That, or a listening post," Isralla guessed. "Keeping tabs on all shipping in this sector, ready to alert the pirates. The instillation is illegal, but so small no one cares. "

Favian sighed, "Just what are we doing here?"

"Playing it by ear," John laughed. "We're making this one up as we go along."

"If we do this right we'll be chased back to the Janus," Isralla laughed along with her husband.

"And then?" Bellona sighed.

"You didn't think all those weapons were just for show did you?" Enryn chuckled.

The combat-car pulled up outside the main dome, next to a small shuttle that looked a hundred years old. Adjusting their disguises they entered through the main airlock, and into a world of flashing lights and shrieking music.

"Think we've found us a cantina," Ace laughed.

Humanoids of a hundred kinds bustled about the main dome, drinking, dancing and whatever else they felt like doing in dim sealed off alcoves.

A bar ran along one curved wall, with about twenty staff serving drinks, and drugs that were illegal on a hundred worlds.

It appeared that you could buy or rent anything or anyone at a moment's notice. There was a stream of young girls and boys being led to and fro from the private alcoves, some looked on in resignation, but others in open horror at their fates. The youngest could hardly walk, and they oldest looked worn out at twenty five.

Dim screams, male, female and some childish filtered through the security screens, some in fun but many in horror, disgust and mind-blowing terror.

The stage held a lovely brunette in a skin tight black outfit, who was shacked to a metal frame as a man canned her exposed breasts and pubes without mercy.

They walked past the bar and into one of the smaller domes, finding a thieves kitchen where you could buy anything.

"So this is how they get away with it," Isralla sighed. "By providing whatever service people want, no mater how perverse. John my love, can we close this dump down?"

"Not with just the Janus Ralla, and the Texas is too far out of range. I'm sorry, but we can't help them."

"We never expected this," Ace sighed. "We probably should have done."

"Let's find out what other perversions are for sale in this den of iniquity," Enryn whispered weakly. "Favian, we've found you brothel, so if you want an hour off duty we'll understand."

"I do not touch children," he gasped in horror. "All right, I'm no saint, but I'm not a bloody monster either."

"You did right to bring us," Bellona sighed weakly. "I've seen a few bad things in my life, and done my fair share, but to so abuse kids is unthinkable! Now we know which side we're on."

One dome held a hundred cages, from which the damned gazed out with dead eyes, awaiting their turn in Hell! Most were young women who felt far older than they looked, but teenage boys and even children could be ordered at will from a terminal in each alcove.

A few men wandered through the cages, window shopping until they saw the required level of terror in the prisoner's eyes. Then a quick sale and the victim was dragged from their cage into a life of agony, some never returned, and it was never explained if they had been sold or murdered.

Most of the victims had been through this before, ordered by number from old clients, or picked at random by new ones. Their only life was pain and suffering, their only hope of relief was death. But a few were so terrified they could only be fresh meat, new stock awaiting their turn at torture and abuse.

Isralla turned to see a tiny cage holding a brother and sister who could hardly be four years old. She turned white, but forced herself to turn away.

"John, this place is going down!" she warned her husband.

"I never doubted it," he sighed, "but will you wait till we find out what's going on before you rearrange the local geography?"

"I'll give some thought."

Bellona whispered to Ace, "What's the problem?"

"Isralla hasn't Gyor's serenity, or her control, sometimes her spells tend to overreact, disastrously."

"I still can't believe it's real," Favian gasped. "I've seen a few tricks, but nothing I can't explain if I try hard enough."

"You'll learn," Enryn chuckled. "If you live long enough."

They stood to one side as a servant pulled two girls from a cage, ripped off their few rags and dragged them into the main dome, as they screamed for mercy. They were sisters of about the same age, but not identical, one was an inch taller than the other and had darker hair. But their horror was impossible to tell apart. Unfortunately they just weren't important enough to save.

Something was wrong.

Isralla knew she was missing something vital, but had no idea what it was. She looked at the whores, prostitutes or slaves. There was something so fundamentally wrong she just couldn't see the problem.

It couldn't be the slaves, they were just that, slaves. Then why did she feel so sickened? She been in some pretty bad places and seen some terrible things, but few had affected her this way.

Hell, she'd grown up on Yag-Urth, seeing slaves abused daily.

She turned back to see the children, noticing the fear in their grey eyes. And then it hit her, nearly all the slaves were the same. From the same world- or ship!

With a trembling hand she reached down to pick up the scraps of fabric torn from the sisters who had just been dragged off to be raped.

She opened out the rags to see the remains of a strip dress, a single strip of white linen five foot long by one wide, with a hole in the middle to go over the head, and held together by a sash.

Enryn saw the outfit in disbelief, she had never owned one, but her sister Jinryn had, and most of the children of the Ship!

They both turned to see the slaves with incredulity, most had dark blond hair and grey eyes, and a completion that would be indistinguishable from the white races of Earth.

John and Ace turned from the rags to see the impossible, over forty people who could only have been kin to Enryn.

"They are just like Jina, our wife," Isralla snapped. "And that makes them kin!"

"To hell with the mission," John gasped, "this is now a rescue mission."

"So what do you want?" Ace sighed.

"Leave Ralla and me to sort them out. I want you to cause a fuss, get them to chase you back to the Janus."

"You're asking us to start a bar fight?" Enryn gasped in shock.

"No, I'm telling you."

Ace turned to Favian, "I told you there were advantages working for the Percival family."

"This is a direct order sir?" Bellona gasped. "And what limits are their?"

"These bastards don't deserve limits," Isralla snapped as she looked back from a cage of abused children. "I'm authorising lethal force."

"Any who don't give chase," John insisted, "we will sort out, our way!"

"You know," Favian laughed, "this sounds like fun."

Isralla returned to the four year olds, ripping the lock off their cage in rage. The thug who had just taken the sisters to be raped came back and saw her reaching for the kids. "Hey, you! They've just been sold! What the he..."

That was as far as he got before Isralla's golden eyes began to glow with anger, and she lashed out in wrath; he fell to the floor in agony as something began to eat his chest from the inside.

"Fire ants?" John asked.

"No, a singularity! We've about an hour before this moon gets a new crater."

John drew his Glock pistol and started to screw on the suppressor, looking for any more back room boys who might cause problems. He fired three times killing them in near silence, before they even knew there was a threat. When he turned back his wife was hugging the kids possessively.

It didn't surprise him, she took after her mother, a real soft touch. He started to open the cages and organise the break out, ignoring the man who thrashed on the floor in terror and agony. The thug just didn't know how dead he really was!

The Marines walked into the bar, looking for trouble, trying to find the right people to piss off. That came as natural with Marines as breathing.

Female screams came from one alcove as the sisters were being raped. Favian and Bellona followed the sounds of pain as Ace and Enryn started to hunt their own victims.

A couple of Warriors in black hung about the room, just trying to look threatening. Their day was about over. Enryn sized them up but moved on to more excitable targets.

Ace walked through the crowd to see that most of the slaves were descended from the Ship people, whoever they were, but there was still about twenty alien girls who were in just as much trouble.

Favian picked up a drink and stumbled into the alcove, gasping, "Sorry, thought it was the loo." He saw the sisters bent backwards over a steel frame as they were whipped and raped by eight guys that looked like refugees from an abattoir. The girls were not enjoying it one bit. "Hey, nice girls, mind if I take a look?"

Bellona entered behind him to gaze upon the horror with disbelief, the sisters were not just being raped but tortured, and she felt certain it would be to the death. "Favian, I've seen enough," she gasped.

"As you wish," he chuckled and drew his short sword to slice through the groin of the beast raping one of the girls, the man fell away leaving his groin still in the girl.

Bellona picked up a second man by his neck and shook him till he was dead.

The other beasts took five seconds to get over the shock, and then drew weapons and leapt to attack, but by then most were already dead.

Favian was playing with a couple of survivors as Bellona freed the girls, pulling the still warm dick from one girl. "You don't want this?" she asked innocently. The girl shook her head in disgust, so the Marine casually tossed the member to the owner who was busy bleeding to death. "Sorry, you can have it back."

"We have to go now," Favian explained, "it's about to get a little too exciting for a couple of Marines."

"Take care," Bellona sighed as they let the survivors run screaming from the alcove.

The sisters took one quick glance around the room, and fled for the entrance stark naked, only to see the barren surface and the brilliant stars.

It was only then they realised how hopeless was their plight, they had not known that they were in space.

Ace and Enryn were causing enough fuss of their own, with fists and bottles swinging freely. The Marines met near the door as a hundred enraged party goers swarmed towards them.

"Had a good time?" Ace gasped as a chair just missed his head.

"Not bad," Favian laughed, "but I think the bouncers are about to kick us out."

Six Warriors were now standing in their globes of energy, pushing through the crowd. "Let's run for it," Enryn gasped. "We can't let them see us kill the warriors."

"But we can't make it look too well planed," Bellona laughed as she drew her carbine and blasted away at the Warriors.

Then they turned and fled with a hundred rioters on their heels, and the Warriors ever gaining ground. They made it to the combat-car and drove slowly off, as two figures ran in front.

The sisters fresh from torture. "You can't leave us," one begged in terror.

"They'll kill us for sure next time," the second screamed.

Favian stopped the car as Bellona pulled them inside, holding them firmly as he swerved to avoid the crowd and crawled slowly off into the crater.

Ace glanced at the new girls and chuckled, "Enryn dear, are you going to tell them?"

"No chance," she laughed, "they saved the girls fair and square, so it's on their own heads whatever happens next. They might not even have the same customs as my ship."

John saw the naked girls holding on to Bellona for dear life, crying their desperation. "If they don't have the same custom, I think they might invent it," he chuckled.

John and Isralla swept through the bar, killing anyone too lazy to chase the Marines, and freeing all the slaves from machines of torment.

She rushed to the stage where a very pretty brunette was strapped to a fame, her one piece outfit of shiny black was zipped open from her throat and right the way down to between her thighs and half way up her back, leaving her breasts and bare pubes covered in marks of a cane. Small rings and chains pulled her most private parts wide open as translucent inserts had been forced deeply inside her. Cups covered both nipples and seem to purr as the girl thrashed ecstatically in her bonds. She licked her lips wantonly as her eyes were closed to the emergency before her, all she could do was come in a series of artificially induced orgasms that left her floating in another world.

Her face was very appealing with a high brow and large grey eyes, a cute nose and warm mouth with laugher lines at the corners. Her light brown hair was brushed back and tied at her neck, to fall in waves half way down her slender back.

Isralla slapped her face bringing the girl half way back to reality, and freed her, zipping the outfit closed up to the slave's throat. "Snap out of it bitch," Isralla gasped. "Help us now!"

The girl opened her blurred eyes to see the cantina empty but for a few bodies and the escaping slaves.

"We need a ship, and I was hoping you might know a good one."

"I do," she sobbed.

"I've no time to waste, this dump is about to become a new crater in about fifteen minutes. Take us to the ship!"

John hurried sixty or more slaves forward, making sure that the kids they had selected were being carried to safety. "John, Isralla."

"I'm Becky," the girl gasped as she fled the building on nine inch heels. The outfit clung to her fantastic figure like a second skin, with black and red cuffs at neck, wrists and ankles. It looked great, but Becky could hardly walk in the boots that left her balancing on callused toes.

They fled to a modern long range shuttle, a low laying ship with but a single deck and a dozen cabins fitted out quite comfortably, it was a regular home amongst the stars. Until the refugees piled onboard, cramming into every where they could.

John stared at the alien layout of controls, he hadn't a any idea what he was supposed to do.

Becky slipped into the control chair, slipped the safety belts around her waist and started up the engines with the flick of five switches. "This is my ship, the Appala. So if we're all ready?"

"Hit it," John snapped.

The Appala hovered for a couple of seconds, and then blasted from the moon and into deep space.

"If this is your ship," Isralla gasped, "what were you doing in the club?"

"Look, I'm just wharf rat," Becky sighed. "My family were all good spacers, but bad business men. I was born begging handouts from rich passengers. All I have is my face and no morals, have you any idea how much I get paid for one night's work? Enough to keep the Appala going for a month."

"I thought you were a slave!" Isralla gasped in outrage.

"I'm a performance artist," Becky insisted. "I control the whole show, and enjoy it."

"You realise what this means Ralla?" John sighed.

She freed the belt from Becky's waist and pulled her away from the controls, snapping the cuffs behind her back, and then the ankle straps until the girl lay hogtied on the cabin floor. "It means Becky that you were working for the enemy, and therefore can't be trusted. And that you will spend the rest of the trip blindfolded."

"But I've still got the inserts working away," Becky gasped in horror. "Let me turn them off."

"We can't take the risk," John said sadly. "We don't understand the technology, and you might have a locator built in. Look on the bright side, you'll enjoy it," he laughed.

Favian stopped the combat-car half way to the crater's wall, and jumped out as though it was broken.

The crowd saw them fleeing on foot and resumed the chase.

As the crowd ran past the car and on even further to the dawdling Marines the Janus raised her indirect fire weapons, and unleashed a swarm of missiles and cannon shells at the crowd, which promptly ceased to exist.

Only the Warriors still lived, surrounded by globes of impregnable force.

As the Janus moved out on her tracks the Marines walked back towards the Warriors, drawing weapons and grinning.

Enryn fired a burst of wooden darts at the first Warrior, but the first few were out of range and skipped off his shield. It was only at about ten feet that her dart past through the shield with enough force to hit the Warrior, the man stumbled to his feet gasping blood.

Ace drew a sword of LySeelel design and sliced through his victim with a single blow.

Favian ran his short sword into his opponent, killing him in a split second.

With inspiration Bellona cast her short sword hilt first at the Warrior, hitting his head and he slumped to the ground, his armored globe shutting off.

The last two died in a hail of darts.

John called over the comlink, "Situation resolved here, but we've a lot of refugees and there's a ship heading this way, so beat it back to the Texas. We've stolen a ship and will meet you there."

"Okay John," Ace replied. "We got a few dead Warriors and a live one, do you want us to bring them?"

"Ison and Eileen will be delighted. See you soon."

They boarded the Janus, dropping the Warriors into stasis body bags, especially the live one, and made sure the sisters were strapped down. Then the Janus converted back into a ship and blasted from the moon, heading for the FTL section that was even now heading to pick them up.

They joined up with the Apalla just seconds before a vast explosion wracked the base and then the moon.

As the Janus docked with the drive unit and was about to flee into hyperspace the entire moon began to twist out of reality, crumbling and folding in on its self time after time until there was nothing left but a few grains of dust.

Becky saw the moon vanish before her eyes, just before John slipped the blindfold around her face and pushed a ball gag into her mouth.

"That was Isralla getting mad," Enryn gasped. "She must have seen things there that we did not."

"She destroyed an entire moon out of piqué," Bellona gasped in shock. "Could even lady Gyor have done that?"

"Oh yes," Ace laughed, "but she'd have done it with more style."

"She'd probably have twisted it into a pretty shape and signed her name with a few stars," Enryn laughed.

The medic was checking out the sisters, treating their more recent scars as Enryn rooted through the FTL ship's stores, finding enough material to make two green strip dresses for them, and some para-cord to wrap twice around their waists and knot on their left hips.

The sisters slipped happily into the dresses and tied them firmly with ceremonial knots. "Rina and Tina we are called lady. You know who we are?"

"Yes my sisters, I am Enryn, and I'm sure we shall have a lot to discuss on the Texas."

"One who stands! Then fortunate are we to have found you."

"You wish to follow custom, or be free?" Enryn chuckled.

"Our lives were saved fairly, by those who did not wish to profit," Rina gasped. "They even tried to leave us behind."

"We will serve if they wish it," Tina insisted.

"This is your choice, made freely and fairly?" Ace asked. "No one will force you to serve. If you wish we will look after you until you can find a life of your own."

"The choice is made, at least until we understand them," Rina sighed.

"Right," Enryn sighed, "here's how this is going to work. First, whatever you do, don't explain, let them find out the hard way. We'll have you assigned to clean their quarters, and you can take it from there."

Ace mused, "They are both sergeants, so I can get Rosa to fix them up with a small suite, say three double bedrooms. For a job well done."

Enryn laughed, "Rina, Tina, whatever you do don't scare them. Seduce them gently, they are a bit provincial."

"But good foke," Ace laughed. "I'm starting to like them."

"If we turn them over to June, she'll probably get them married with the rest of us," Enryn sighed.

"So that's the plan is it?" Ace laughed. "That way we all get to honeymoon at the same time, and report back for duty on the same day."

"Typical!" Enryn chuckled.

"I'm sure the Marine Corps could learn a lot from June," Ace sighed. "The next thing you know we'll be making love and giving birth on command!"

"Once a Marine always a Marine," she laughed. "I'll bet she's going to offer the Titanic for the honeymoon."

"If she thinks we're going to be happy in space after this!" Ace gasped. "I was thinking of a nice quiet beach."

"And we'll have them, by the planet load."

Back at the Texas Favian and Bellona were shown to their joint quarters by Rosa, who had gotten quite creative about why two sergeants had to share. They were reluctant to be alone together following some the disgusting things they had been ordered to do by their former master, and were used to living in barracks, but then they found Rina and Tina cooking and cleaning the apartment, and started to get more enthusiastic about bunking together.

It was a week later that the sisters formally tied their sashes on their right hips, which in their custom was virtually declaring they were married to the couple they served. Even if Favian and Bellona didn't yet know they were a couple.

When Enryn and Ace finally made it back home they found Rosa holding a packed suitcase and ready to leave them.

They had only shared love the once and then Gyor's interference had gotten in the way, and she was terrified of being left alone and forgotten. They resolved the situation by binding Rosa to their bed and making love to her for a solid week, when Ace and Enryn were sleeping or on duty Fae took over with enthusiasm.

It was only during the marathon bout of making love that they found Rosa was blessed with more that her fair share of pleasure points, and could have multiple orgasms at the same time. Thanks to Biroid engineering and a master who was too busy to please her the old fashioned way.

Rosa was crying with unendurable joy when they freed her a week later, all doubts had long since fled, she belonged to them as much as they belonged to her.

"I'm one out of four point two billion," she gasped as they freed her. "Out of all that number I'm the only one who deserved you both."

"Someday Gyor's going to make a mistake," Ace sighed.

"If so," Enryn gasped, "I hope it's not in this Universe."

"She might blow it up!"

The Percivals held another ball, and invited the command staff. Enryn chose her little black dress again, and had fun persuading Bellona to wear her first dress. Soon Enryn, Sal and Ceri were busy turning the six foot Marine into a woman for the first time in her life.

The result stunned Favian in to stammering as he escorted her to the ball. Sal and Ceri were also invited, at Gyor's request. The Mage had forgiven En-eta after about a week, and neither had been seen much while the Janus was away.

Gyor had always been protective of En-eta, assuming the slave was in need of shelter, but now she escorted her around the ball with pride, as one free person to another, and it seemed that their might be another couple at the mass wedding June was planning.

Ace and Enryn glided around the ball with confidence, having earned the right through combat. Rosa's position supervising the Marine Base had earned her the right to be there, and Fae were also invited, to round off the family.

But John and Enryn surprised every one by introducing the two children they had first met in a cage, and were now giving serious thoughts to adopting, a four year old brother and sister with dark hair and grey eyes. They were ship children, but had been kidnapped very young or bred in captivity, and never named. At least not yet.

The girl Jina was pregnant with their first child, not John's first child, the joint family's first child, and she was looking after the twins with pleasure. The fact that he could have a child with Jina wasn't a real surprise, but it was good news to Enryn and Ace, the big surprise was that the Ship people predated humanity by millions of years. And still no-one knew where they were from or where their ships were going. Rina and Tina only knew that their ship was immense and that it travelled between the stars in stasis, only entering real time near stars, as they searched for something so profound it was never mentioned to the passengers. They could remember the ship being boarded by pirates when the stasis field failed, and a few hundred being taken captive before they were forced off.

Many of the officers were surprised that Isralla showed no jealousy towards Jina, for they had always considered her to be a slave. But to Isralla Jina was a much loved sister or even second wife, and her love had also been blessed by the Lady of Yag-Urth. It would be hundreds of years before the Mage was ready to have children of her own, and so she welcomed the new family with open arms.

The officers were asked to consider looking after some of the kids rescued from the moon base. There was no other way to take care of them, the Texas didn't have a orphanage or institution, just a lot of loving people.

Jina did surprise them again by bringing Becky, still in her black outfit and steaming from days of none stop pleasure due to her purring inserts.

"She knows a lot that we don't," Isralla insisted, "and I'm going to have a few words with her."

"You've gone from a part time slave to a full time one for the rest of your life," Gyor insisted.

"You don't mind Mum," Isralla asked shyly.

"It's not up to me love, you're a married woman now, but I'm sure John will forgive you."

"It's just that we free slaves," John sighed. "This is the first time we've ever enslaved a free woman."

"John," Gyor laughed, "if you don't take her, I will!"

Isralla laughed and started to undress Becky, leaving her wrists clipped to the wide collar, then peeling off the shiny suit and removing her boots. Then Becky could only stand before her masters held by her ankles and wrists as the implants whirred away, washing her mind with unendurable lust.

She removed the inserts from groin and nipple, slapping the girl back to reality. Becky could only gasp in shock on finding herself surrounded by grinning strangers.

"I think I'll call you Slut," Isralla laughed, "for you truly are one."

"If you please us," John laughed, "we will keep you. But any trouble and you'll get it back a thousand fold. Well either beat you till you can't stand or sell you to a farmer to pull his plough, perhaps both."

"And if I please you Master," she whimpered. "What then will you do with me?"

"I was thinking of a little brand," Isralla sighed, "tasteful and erotic, but only if you really deserve it."

"The brand is if I'm good?" she gasped in horror.

"The brand would mean that we're keeping you," John explained, "for life."

"You will forever be a slave," Gyor insisted. "But to be a recreational slave is better than being tortured to death like the girls we rescued from your club."

"I know of..."

"Of course you don't," Isralla snapped, "you were too busy having sex! We'll show you the infirmary tomorrow, there are still about twenty children being treated for sexual and physiological abuse."

June pulled up the twins, letting the slave see what damage a lifetime of bondage could do to kids that could hardly walk.

"Jina, take the slut away, clean and feed her, then chain her to our bed by a short leash," John insisted. "You will please us both tonight Slut, with your mouth."

"Oh, and Jina love," Isralla said sweetly, "you have the right to punish her as you like. Don't bother to ask us, she also belongs to you. You are our wife after all."

Jina laughed and kissed Isralla and then John, pulling the slave from sight.

Isralla picked up the discarded black outfit, examining it with interest. "We'll keep her naked for a few months, and then let her wear this again."

"Long term plans?" June laughed.

"After we've trained her, which won't take long, she's a real submissive slut at heart, I think she'll make a good private pilot."

"We might have to alter her seat," John laughed, "a few chains or a dildo, just to keep her happy."

"The chains yes," Isralla agreed, "but no more dildo, not ever! If she ever wants to have sex again then she will have to beg us for mercy."

Gyor laughed, "And I wonder where you picked this up?"

"I learned from the best Mom," Isralla laughed.

That night, after Enryn and Ace had got them nicely drunk, Favian and Bellona walked home and fell into the same bed. Quiet when they started to make love was uncertain, but they awoke at daybreak naked in each other's arms. The next time they made love they were both stone cold sober and enjoyed themselves far more than expected.

They tried to hide their secret perversion only to find out that most Marines had guessed it was coming and some had even bet on when it would happen. Enryn walked off with a thousand dollars, she'd picked the date as soon as she found out about the Ball.

The others in Favian and Bellona's platoon were confused about the situation and started to question their own programming for the first time.

A month later the Iowa limped in to take up station with the Texas and Florida, and Eileen finally got a chance to dismantle the sections and fix them in a giant replicator in the Florida.

Again it was an imposable use of replicator technology.

She did it anyway.

And a month later the Iowa was back on active duty and looking far better than she had ever done. And far more automated, to cut down on the inter service rivalry.

Isralla invited Ace and Enryn over to inspect the repairs, incidentally letting Slut see all three ships hanging in space for the first time. The slave's respect for them rose a few thousand percent, and she started to believe they might have a chance to beat the Lords of All.

A week later Isralla renamed her Becky, after she had earned the right by hard work and devotion. They still could not trust her, and so she spent most of the time restrained, even when watching her masters training with the Marines.

Eileen finally showed everyone her newest ship, the Coloniser, a saucer shaped craft half a mile wide, that had a wooden village built in the middle. Below the village was giant sized replicator assembly, that could beam a copy of the village and recreate it on the ground. They could replace the village with anything they wanted from a igloo to an apartment block, but the wooden village was more appropriate for low tech worlds.

With Becky piloting they flew the Coloniser down to an Earth type world, and tested it out by building a dozen villages on the virgin world. Ace and Enryn walked around the first village, seeing thirty sturdy houses, a barn, civic centre cum school, water pumps, sheds full of tools and clothing suitable for the climate and a harsh winter. Each house had three large bedrooms, a lounge/ dinning room, kitchen and bathroom. With an endless supply of building material growing in the forest, if the villages needed to expand.

"Forget the rustic charm," Eileen laughed, "I've built a full electrical, water and waste system below the streets, and a computer data base in the school. They'll be able to pick up any skills they need, and contact the other villages."

The barn was full of supplies and simple farming tools. "Sorry I can't replicate living animals," Eileen sighed. "I'm sure they would appreciate a few horses, cows and sheep."

"Even if you could," John pointed out, "they might not survive on a new world. The colonists will have to learn to domesticate local critters."

Enryn laughed, "Look, we've already done the hard work, let's try it out. If we can get Gyor to find us a couple of thousand refugees..."

"We can leave an Arrow class Frigate in orbit to keep an eye on them," John mused. "I think it's worth a go."

Becky was back to wearing her shiny black jumpsuit, that clung to her every curve almost as if alive, but at least she could walk in the new boots. Isralla pulled the slave by a leash gently, but the girl didn't seem too distressed by her ordeal. She was flying again, and earning the right to please her masters. Flying and sex had always been the biggest thrills of her short life.

Favian and Bellona joined Ace and Enryn sweeping around the site, or holding hands when no-one was looking. They saw plenty of alien life forms but none threatening to the new colony.

A few hours later a mirror bright dome snapped into existence in the middle of the village, and seemed to burst into nothing before the mind had time to realise it was there. It left over two hundred men, women and children laying naked on the lawn, sleeping as the gas wore off.

Becky could only stare on seeing that many of them were near starvation, and suffering months of abuse. A dozen girls and a few men seemed to have white scars all over their bodies, left from surgical experiments.

Gyor was explaining where they were from and what had been done to them. "We couldn't save them all, but we got about ninety percent, including most of the experimental subjects, all that took was for an Agent to hit them with a drug that mimicked death. The bastards who performed the experiments were expecting them to die and sent the bodies for cremation. Just like all the rest. We had time to heal the worst of the wounds, and treat them all for starvation, but the mental aspect will be up to them."

"What was the last thing they remember?" Enryn asked.

"Dieing," Gyor sighed. "Most of them remember choking to death in the gas chambers, and then nothing. Our Agents were running the disposal site, using none lethal gas instead of cyanide, and Jumped the bodies to Aeden. We never saw any need to wake them up, it would only stretch our resources even further."

"This is what happened to us," Bellona gasped. "But we saw the cryo-stasis chambers, million upon millions of them, and I was terrified we would be forgotten."

"It's happened," Gyor admitted, "all it takes is for one technician to be in a rush to go home, he punches in the wrong decimal point and a thousand people can be misfiled for eternity. We're sure that somewhere in our billions of chambers are some who will never be revived because we don't know they exist."

The refugees started to recover, and the team was soon rushing around handing out paper cups of medicated soup.

It was an hour before two people managed to pull on cotton jump suits and ask sensible questions. "Where the hell are we?" the man gasped in panic.

"Who are you, and why arn't we dead?" the woman also gasped.

"You died over sixty years ago," John tried to explain. "But we had need of you and brought you here, which is over a thousand light years from Earth, to start a new life."

"You can never go home, that world is lost to you for all time," Isralla sighed. "But you can start again, if you wish to live."

"Here none will persecute you," Enryn insisted, "for all are the same as you."

Ace took over, "All you need to farm this land is waiting for you. All we could not provide was the livestock, so you get to catch and domesticate your own brand of wildlife."

"There are another eleven villages just like this one within a month's walk," Enryn explained. "We tried to put you in family groups, but most of the records were lost or incomplete, and so you might be strangers for all we know. The computer in the civic building will put you in touch with the other sites, so you may find missing loved ones."

"But don't bet on it," Bellonia insisted. "This is an experiment, and if it works we might drop off a lot more like you all across the planet."

"So what do you expect of us?" the man sighed in shock.

"To have a good life, that's all we ask," Isralla pointed out.

"And the rules lady?" the woman sighed. "There must be rules somewhere?"

"Basic common decency," John took over. "Treat people the way you would wish to be treated. You will have to work together just to survive. But forget the law books, they no longer apply. Anyone will be free to be his or her own self! No matter what that means."

Isralla continued, "Anyone will be entitled to live with, and marry or not, any consenting adult. We only draw the line at genetic disasters like close family or children. If you want five wives or five husbands we don't care."

"Just love each other," John sighed. "This group consists of a mixed bunch of two hundred, that's about the size of most early villages. I hope you will care for the children?"

They left the world behind with but a single Frigate to protect it and study the experiment.

All they needed now was to win a war and start to colonise the galaxy.

Eileen and Ison were struggling with the wooden assault shuttles, they had replicated a mock up of part of the alien mothership, but the first five shuttles had failed to penetrate the target's shields, and crushed the dummy crew. The next six had got far enough to ignite the plasma torch against the dummy hull, and turned into Roman candles, again killing the crew.

So it was back to the drawing board. The concept was sound but the technology rather basic.

The training had been getting ever tougher as the various branches grew to be Marines, like it or not. Then one day Ace put them all on parade in their dress uniforms, and told them that they had all qualified as Space Marines.

Sal was wearing corporal stripes as she lead Fae around the drill field as the Company Mascot, causing the entire ship's crew to grin with a display that would offend just about all of the Marines rules and regulations for the last two hundred years. But the grinning girl did have a huge effect on moral.

Ace didn't explain that even the old Marines had requalified three times over the old Earth bound limits, and the ex-slaves were now keeping up with ease. Favian's Biroids were easily four times over the legal limit, and Bellona was pushing her girls into reaching five.

John and Isralla called the Marines to order.

"I'm sure you're all getting bored," John snapped. "So we've arranged a little camping trip."

"Marines like mud, or so June assures me," Isralla laughed, "and I've found a whole world of mud for you to play in."

Ace took over, "The Warriors have a training camp on a jungle world, recruits go in one end and Warriors come out the other. We don't like that. And I'm sure you don't like it ether."

"This is a big installation, but far off the usual shipping lanes," Enryn continued, "so we don't expect any ships to come. So we invite them to chase us into the jungle, and take them out one at a time."

"And that means booby traps," Ace laughed. "We trap the entire jungle and invite them out to play."

"After we search the installation we use the ESSs to sterilise it," Enryn snapped. "We don't leave one Warrior alive or one brick touching another."

The Iowa parted from the Texas and Florida, and carried the flotilla of ESS armoured personnel carriers into battle. Just like the Janus, all had been named after Roman Gods, and the Romans had a lot of gods so they were unlikely to run out of names any time soon.

A few light years from the target the ESSs parted from the Iowa behind a star and dived towards the target planet at full speed. They ditched their FTL units and swept around the system to hit the planet from the far side to the base.

Then for thousands of miles they flew nap of the earth around the mud ball, dodging mountains to fly up rivers and through valleys, never any higher than they needed to be.

It took a week to crawl towards the target, then they landed and went the last hundred miles on tracks, settling down in a valley a hundred miles from the target.

Four man combat-cars skimmed through the jungle, mapping routs and setting traps as nearly three hundred Marines turned the jungle into a low tech death trap. There wasn't a single piece of metal or electronics anywhere, just traps made wood, bamboo and vines, and triggered by trip wires.

It took them three weeks to turn the entire jungle into a place where no-one in his right mind would want to be.

Ace and Enryn took turns with Favian and Bellona scouting out the installation, seeing who came and went, but apart from the odd transporter the base looked quiet.

They knew better.

Ace, Enryn, Favian, Bellona, Sal and Ceri walked openly towards the installation, raised their carbines and aimed at the inactive shield generators, and fired a never ending stream of armour piercing rounds, grenades and incendiaries into the dozen domes, cracking through the armoured shells to devastate the delicate machinery inside. Explosion after explosion tore across the installation.

Then they took out the communication antenna, sealing the base off from the rest of the universe.

It took five minutes for the first Warriors to form up at the entrance, and the Marines fired at them in vane, their point fifties bouncing off the shields in futility.

"Ok," Ace laughed, "I think we got their attention, but just to be sure." He fired a burst of grenades over the Warriors and far down the tunnel to explode deep inside the base.

"May I suggest my love," Enryn said sweetly, "that we run like hell!"

"Seconded," Bellona laughed.

Favian didn't wait to cast his vote he was already half way to the tree line, as a hundred Warriors burst from the installation.

Enryn fired a bust of her own, sending grenades to explode around the Warriors, but not hit their shields.

"Play time is over," Ace laughed, "Let's see if they can keep up." The marines set of running leaving the Warriors to catch up.

Just inside the tree line was a maze of improvised trenches, not a serious obstacle, it was only meant to annoy the Warriors as they struggled through the stake lined paths that played hell with their shields.

The Warriors were being rounded up into bunches, not one had been killed yet, but they were panicking and calling for help.

An hour later another thousand Warriors burst from the installation, reinforcing their comrades, and pushed the Marines back to a second line of defences by sheer numbers.

Then the trap happened again on a much larger scale and Warriors began stepping into stake lined pits, slicing their legs open.

The second counter attack began to falter as men who thought they were invincible found out that a simple piece of wood could kill them.

Panic ensured as the critically injured begged their masters to send yet more help. And the Lords of All began to panic themselves, for if this secret became common knowledge they would become the laughing stock of the galaxy. All they could do was ensure that all of the vermin who attacked them died to the last.

Hundreds more Warriors poured from the installation, and then the last few in dribs and drabs as they were pulled from other duties.

The jungle was getting very crowded, and the Marines began a carefully rehearsed withdrawal, enticing the Warriors too chase them into death traps.

Spiked trees began to swing down forest paths, forcing the fleet of foot to dive into stake lined bushes, and those not fast enough to be crushed by the trees.

Springy branches swept across the paths, armed with a dozen dagger sharp spikes that slipped through shields with ease.

The casualties were building up and any attempt to evacuate the wounded back to the installation was dismissed, the word was given from on high, from now on any casualty who could not walk was to be killed, rather than tie up three Warriors to carry him to safety. So any man who stepped into a stake lined pit was as good as dead.

The Marines pulled back slowly, letting their traps do the killing. They weren't there to count coup, it wasn't a battle to gain personal victory, it was just to kill the greatest number of foes as they could with the least risk to themselves as possible.

And to entice the entire Warrior army into the final death trap.

They pulled back ever further, drawing the Warriors towards a maze of vine covered jungle that they could never enter with their shield working. But enter they would have to do, for their Lords would permit no retreat.

Again the Marines slipped through the jungle, leaving the Warriors to stumble along behind.

"Gunny to all ESSs, target one is now full, all Marines are clear, you may fire at will."

A hundred miles away the Janus and her sister APCs lifted their indirect weapon pods into the sky and fired as one, but not at the Warriors, but at the trees!

Those who had turned off their personal shields were the lucky ones, the first blast killed them in a split second of spurting blood.

But those who were still protected were hit by thousand of pieces of wooden shrapnel that tore them to bits.

A second barrage of shells and missiles descended on the killing ground, and then a third. Then the ESSs fell silent.

A few dozen Warriors, driven mad by horror fled the battle racing back to the installation only to find that the traps they had so arduously avoided coming were even harder to avoid on the way back.

The defences had not been built to keep them out of the jungle, but to stop them escaping alive.

The Marines finally went on the offensive, hunting the survivors down and killing them with wooden darts or swords.

Not one Warrior made it back to the installation alive.

Then the Combat-cars and the ESSs swooped down on the installation, firing their forward energy pods, blasting their way inside through shattered walls and crumbling corridors.

The attack lasted five seconds and then the ESSs crashed deep into the buildings, and the Marines were soon pouring through the alien installation with impunity.

Deep in the centre, five floors below ground level, the Marines sealed off the final chamber where thirty Lords of All were cowering in fear. From being the Gods they thought themselves they were now hunted like rabbits.

With the Marines guarding the installation the Percival family strode in to confront the Lords of All.

A low dome covered the ceiling, glowing with unnerving colours, while banks of monitors lined the walls and thirty energy globes seemed to bounce around the room.

The Lords of All swung away from the Percival family, as Ace, Enryn, Favian and Bellona hung back in the door.

"You would dare disturb us Humans," a wave of mental power swept against their minds like a tsunami on a defenceless beach. "You know not to run for your very lives?"

The mental power crushed their minds like empty beer cans, reaching for their souls to torture for an eternity.

The Marines fell to their knees in absolute terror, knowing they were more than lost, they were damned for all eternity for their crimes against their Gods!

Then Isralla looked up with a twinkle in her eye, and began to sing, quietly at first but her voice soon drove before her like an express train.

"Know what that is?" John chuckled. "That is the death march of the Warrior Bards of the LySeelel, in simple terms it means that we will never give up, we will never surrender, and never stop fighting till the last of you are dead!"

Gyor and Ison soon joined in the song, raising the power twenty fold as it lashed back at the Lords.

Then the rest of the Percivals joined in and the song seemed to cut through the Lords like a plasma torch through butter.

They screamed in panic as all hope fled and they knew they were going to die.

"How do you this?" they begged in terror.

"I am known as Gyor Inra-Shrombasre, the Lady of Temple Pasture, High Priestess of Ellberath the Divine, the Lady of Yag-Urth, and you should not be here!"

"Who," they gasped.

"You don't know me?" Gyor swore as if insulted. "You've never heard of me!"

"Why should we?" they begged.

"Because it might have saved your lives," she snapped in rage. "I came here for two reasons, the first was to declare war on you! And the second to find out if you are an invasion force, or a bunch of criminals trying to take over my galaxy."

"Might is right," they replied.

"That did not answer my question," she snapped. "Are there more of you coming?"

"They will come, if we leave anything for them."

"Sounds like a bunch of thieves," Isralla sighed.

"Powerful ones," Gyor replied. "They will come as they wish, and when they wish in the night. Always when we forget to lock the doors."

"Then what is their galaxy like?" John asked.

Gyor concentrated and then lashed out with a mental beam that slashed across the Lords, laying bare their minds. "I've seen enough John, let's finish this." She reached out to push her hand through a energy shield and grab the occupant, crushing his neck with negligence.

The Lords of All could only watch with incomprehension as she did the impossible. Gyor turned to Enryn, "Thanks for that, I owe you, and it felt so good."

Isralla drew her sword, a four hundred year old Kattana, and sliced through a Lord, shield and all.

John drew his Glock, screwed a wooden extension onto the barrel, pushed it through the shield and fired once, blowing the Lord's head off.

The Marines now joined the Percivals in a killing spree, leaving not one survivor.

They turned from the bloodbath, leaving Eileen and Ison to salvage all the alien equipment they could, and walked back into the installation, searching every chamber, and finding little that they liked.

A chamber that used to hold young men, but now only a couple of desiccated corpses had been left. The next room was a surgery where they had been adapted to become Warriors, and a living crystalline plant that seemed somehow significant, as though it had been used to control the victim's minds.

With the Iowa now taking up station over the world Becky brought the Arrow down to land before the installation, and was brought in by Jina. And the girls got to see the reality behind the myth of invulnerability. When Jina saw the dead Lords her pregnancy started playing up, and Becky had to help her back into the fresh air, and realised that she didn't mind one bit. For one who had done everything to be free, she had now had found her true freedom as a slave.

"Put it this way," Jina gasped, "you get to fly some great ships, and we pay for everything."

"Sweet deal," Becky laughed.

Jina started to throw up on the grass, and finally gasped, "One other thing, when you were free and had your own ship, where were you going?"

"To the next man who wanted to beat me!"

It took a week to strip the installation apart, and then the Iowa left the world behind, unleashing a single missile as she reached Hyperspace, and vanished from reality. And far behind the missile struck the installation and exploded with a ten mega ton nuclear explosion, destroying all evidence of what had happened.

When the injured were back on the Texas Gyor treated them all herself, even the couple pulled from stasis body bags.

It was a few weeks later that Enryn started to feel a bit sick, and it took her three weeks to admit she was expecting, but was so afraid of missing the final battle she kept silent.

The final tally was that three hundred Marines had wiped out a force of three thousand warriors, with no fatalities.

Sweet.

John and Isralla invited the Marines to the Percival quarters, which usually meant they wanted someone killing.

Ace, Enryn, Favian and Bellona soon reported and found an impromptu celebration going on, which involved a Hot Tub and a lot of booze. The Marines stripped off and joined the family in the Hot Tub, and were handed glasses full of spirits by Jina.

"Okay," Enryn sighed as she gasped around the mellow whisky, "who do you want killing this time?"

"This isn't a combat mission," Isralla sighed as her drink slid frozen down her throat to explode in her belly into an alcoholic mist that seemed to penetrate her entire body at the same time.

"Sources have found a Ship between the stars," John laughed. "Enryn, I thought you might like to see what your kin is like. The ones who haven't crash landed or been turned into slaves."

"This is just a recon mission in the Arrow," Isralla laughed. "So it will be just us six, but you might want to bring a friend or two."

"No trees in space," Ace laughed, "so we don't need Fae, but I think Rosa needs a break."

"We'll be bringing Jina and Becky," Isralla insisted. "Favian?"

"Just the two of us."

Jina and Becky joined them in the Tub, and soon Rosa was called to join them as they got slightly drunk and used to the idea of spending months together in a small Frigate.

Ace and Enryn left Fae looking after Apollina, Rastus, Arlena and Betha, with promises from their friends to visit regularly and keep the sport in line. They left for the Arrow with Rosa, giving their friend her first taste of real space flight.

John and Isralla soon joined them with Jina and Becky as back up pilot.

Favian and Bellona entered side my side to find Rina and Tina waiting for them in near mutiny. "You are not leaving us," Tina gasped in outrage.

"Neither of you can cook," Rina insisted, "and you'll be eating survival rations the whole trip."

"There's plenty of room," John laughed. "And we could use some help."

"This is just a scouting trip," Isralla explained. "So sit back and enjoy it."

Becky slid into the command chair and cracked her fingers in anticipation, "So where to Boss?"

"Oh, out there," John laughed. "I'll let you have fun for a while."

"Yes sir!" she snapped. "By the way mistress Isralla, if you still want to brand me, I'm listening." The Arrow floated through the Texas's lock and into space, and Becky floored the drive looping around the flotilla of capital ships and blasting off into the depths of space. "I love this ship," she screamed.

"I was joking," Isralla gasped, "but now I think I'll have to brand you! I'm certainly not letting you go..."

"The family's big enough to take her," John laughed. "But I'm not sure about the galaxy."

"Becky, consider this a trial at fitting in," Isralla laughed, "if you serve us well you may beg to be our slave."

"I'm begging, I'm begging," Becky laughed. "Please let me serve you!"

John walked over to hold the girl's shoulders and bent to kiss her neck, nipping her slightly, tasting her blood for the first time.

"So?" Isralla laughed.

"Taste her yourself," John sighed.

Isralla also nipped the girl's neck, "There's a lot of damage in there. I'm sorry Becky, we can't trust you yet."

"You were a slave too long," John explained. "If not in reality, but in yourself. You've a lot of healing to go through, but I hope you will make it."

"I'm not good enough," Becky gasped.

"You will be," Isralla sighed, "if you really want to be."

"It's all about you," John pointed out, "everything is about what we can give you, a fresh orgasm or a new ship. That's not the way it works, we wanted you to be a part of our family, but you have yet to earn the right."

"I wish I knew what you are talking about," Becky sighed.

"That is the problem, you don't," Isralla explained.

The Arrow flashed past the speed of light, going hyper in seconds and the crew settled down to wait the voyage out.

Favian and Bellona were given the treatment that would extend their lives immeasurably, and their girls were tested and found to be worthy to join them, and so Rina and Tina were both bitten by Ace.

It was only a month later that Enryn revealed she was expecting, and that she didn't like it. She was far too busy being a Marine to become a full time mother.

Rosa watched Enryn complaining about the one thing she wanted most of all, and the only thing no Biroid could ever be.

"Look, I can't fight a war carrying a kid," Enryn sighed. "And I'm not letting Ace down."

"Don't you want to be a mother?" Ace sighed.

"Sure I do, when I'm ready. But not just yet."

Isralla sighed sadly, "I could stop it, I could abort your son."

"Never, but I can't give up everything just like that. I've been killing myself to become a Marine, and now I'm a good one."

"Isralla, can't you do anything?" Ace gasped.

"Not on the Arrow, and by the time we make it back to the Texas it'll be too late."

"Could you give him to me," Rosa whispered.

"What!" Enryn gasped.

"Isralla, can't you do something like that?"

"Rosa, you have no idea what you are asking."

"I'm asking to save this child, isn't that what this is all about? Saving lives."

"If I did it would change you all forever, both of you and the child. But I don't know how."

"What are you saying?" Enryn gasped in shock.

"That Rosa could carry the baby for you," Isralla sighed. "It has been done, in a proper environment."

"And on the Arrow?" Ace asked.

"It can be done, and I know how to do it. If you really want me to transfer the baby to Rosa, and if she really wants me to, I will comply."

Ace sighed, "You mentioned risks, what are they?"

"Enryn might never be able to have another baby. I'll be transferring a lot into Rosa, besides the baby, and it's going to hurt you both."

"And I," Rosa gasped, "what of me?"

"I don't know, you might be able to have children of your own after this, but I'm making no promises."

Rosa gasped, "If you can, then do it."

"Enryn?"

"Do it Isralla."

"And you Ace, as the father you have to agree as well."

"Do it Isralla, but be gentle."