Chapter One The Menace From Space

Update: Feb. 2013

This is the first book in the Mackenzie's Rock series.  The second book is Jara Versus the Planet Marl and the third book is Captain Mackenzie and the Last Chance Spaceship.  A book that is located in the Mackenzie universe is available at Amazon and other fine booksites.  The story in that book, Sarah's Spaceship Adventure, occurs some years after this story.

 

Copyright 2011

Julee Mackenzie and the First Officer

 

By

 

Stan Morris

 

Chapter One The Menace From Outer Space

 

“Shush,” Julee Mackenzie whispered to her brother Davud, as she held a finger to her lips. She looked at Jara and said,  “You two stay very quiet and wait for me.  I’ll be right outside the door.  Jara, if something happens to me, don’t open the hatch and don’t make a fuss.  Stay quiet.  Sooner or later, they’ll leave.  Then you’ll have to wait for Wendy to return.”

“Don’t go out there, Julee,” her sister begged.  “Stay in here with us.  They’ll never find us in here.”

“I need to see who they are,” Julee responded. 

She gave her sister a quick hug, stepped back out of the small room, and closed the hatch. When it was closed, the cleverly contrived series of cracks on the hatch matched those on the rock wall, so only the most observant person could have found the hidden room.  The hatch was sealed from the inside, but it could be opened from the outside by pressing two small cracks which were separated by an arm’s length.

Julee made her way to a rock tunnel which led to the surface of the asteroid, and passed through the arched passageway until she arrived at the entrance to the entry room which was at the beginning of a long hollow concrete pillar that extended outward from the rock at a slight angle to the rocky globe. Within the hollow concrete pillar was the exchange tunnel, which was the link between the surface of the asteroid and its interior, where the Mackenzie family lived.  At the other end of the pillar was a docking airlock, where the old family spaceship, captained by her older sister, was docked when it was at home. That sister and the spaceship were away on a trading mission at present. 

In the entry room, Julee had prepared a surprise for the invaders.  She stayed in the bored out corridor and waited nervously, rubbing her hands together and pacing in place as she reviewed her plan again and again.  Presently, a space suited form came creeping along the exchange tunnel.  Obviously, whoever was inside the space suit did not trust the air quality of the asteroid’s interior.  The form was carrying a microwave gun which was pointed forward. Apparently the space suited person did not trust the inhabitants of the asteroid either.  Julee quickly thumbed her rom to increase the voltage in the waiting trap.

Julee waited until the person had fully entered the entry room, and then she triggered the magnetic net she had rigged after Jara had reported the arrival of the unfamiliar spaceship. The mag net dropped onto the spacesuited person, and a small electrical impulse was sent though the drop line.  The mic fell from the person’s temporarily paralyzed fingers, and the critical functions of the spacesuit ceased to operate.  The figure began a desperate struggle to remove the suit’s hood, but the mag net kept pulling the arms of the suit away from the hood, until the figure was close to passing out from a lack of oxygen.

When the form had almost ceased to struggle, Julee killed the low amperage electrical impulse to the mag net, grabbed an aerosol can, and hurried to the form on the rock floor.  She carefully removed the hood.  The man inside wheezed once and feebly tried to reach for her. She sprayed his face with the can of uninhibitor. The man took a whiff, smiled at her, and then he passed out.

Now what?

After considering her options, she began to remove his spacesuit.  He was not a large man, so it was easy to maneuver him in the light gravity of the asteroid.  She got him unsuited, pulling off his thin skinsuit for good measure, and then she laid him face down on the rough concrete.  When she heard the sound of footfalls behind her, she whirled around.

“Who is he?” Jara, who was holding Davud’s small hand, asked.

Julee’s heart rate returned to its normal rate.

“Don’t scare me like that,” she exclaimed, “And I told you to stay in the safe room.”

“Sorry,” her unrepentant sister murmured, fascinated by the sight of the naked man.  “Who is he?” she asked again.

“I don’t know.  A slaver, or maybe a rock jumper.”

“What are you going to do with him, Ju? Are you going to space him?”

Julee had been tempted to do just that, but now that her sister and brother were here, the moral values she had learned from her father caused her to rethink her next move.

She sighed.  “I’m going to return him to his ship.  Maybe they will get the message that we want to be left alone.”  An idea occurred to her.

“Get me an everlasting marker, Jara,” she ordered.

As she waited for her sister to bring the package of colorful pens, she rolled the man onto his back.  Once Jara returned, Julee used the bright red marker to write “Go Away!” on the man’s forehead.  She neatly replaced the pen in the package and laid it aside to view her effort. With a smirk, she thought, that’ll learn him to mess with the Mackenzies.

“You’re not supposed to draw on people,” Jara lectured her disapprovingly.  “Dad said.”

Julee ignored her sister and turned to Davud.  “I want you to watch this man while Jara and I get a mover.  If you see him start to wake up, come and get me real fast.  Okay?”  Davud solemnly nodded.

Julee turned to Jara.  “We’ll use a mover to carry him up the exchange, and then we'll dump him at his ship’s airlock.  Come help me.” 

Julee and Jara went back though the corridor to the rock’s large hollow space where they mined the ore they sold to the traders on First Rock asteroid.  They retrieved a mover, unfolded it, and carried it back to the entry room.  When they arrived, they found three year old Davud holding the bright blue marking pen.  The other pens were scatter around the empty package. 

“I draw,” he said with a wide, happy grin.

Julee looked at the man’s brightly decorated body.

“Oh, dear,” she said with a gulp.

“You’re not supposed to draw on people, Davud,” Jara scolded.

The boy’s face clouded, and his lower lip protruded.  “Julee did,” he answered.

Jara looked at Julee who responded sheepishly, “It was only on his forehead.”

They both looked down at the nude man who was covered with garish pictures of stick people on his sides and a round face with big happy smile on his stomach.  The man’s belly button served as face's nose.

“Help me get him onto the mover,” Julee ordered, as she laid the device next to the stranger.

Together the girls were able to roll the man onto the mover.  It was more difficult to raise the legs of the device.  First they raised the lighter side under his feet, but as they created a slope, the man slid downward and rapped his head against the concrete, causing both girls to wince and Davud to giggle.  They dragged him by his feet until he was completely back on the mover, and then they raised the other side.

Both girls regularly worked with the tools that were used to mine small veins of ore which sometimes veered from the main lodes, so they were strong young ladies.  When the mover was fully raised, they locked the legs and started moving the man through the tunnel, as they made their way up to the docking port.

 

* * *

Major Abram Gunder was waiting, half anxiously and half annoyed, in the docking airlock of the asteroid.  He was anxious because Duque Wilsson was not only the First Officer of his ship, Wilsson was also a friend.  Gunder was annoyed because he felt that he and his men should have been the first to enter the unknown asteroid, not Wilsson. 

Major Gunder was the commander of the ship’s Rock Militia Company, while Wilsson was just the First Officer of the ship.  But Captain Longlife had overruled the commander of his military forces.

“There has been no challenge from these people, whoever they are,” the Captain had stated.  “And until we see or hear one, a ship’s line officer will lead the way.”

Gunder was startled when a loud clanging noise sounded.  It came from the other side of the lock.  He yanked his mic out of its holster.

“Cover me,” he barked to Sergeant Neco.

Gunder checked the air quality panel.  The reading on the screen showed that the atmosphere on the other side of the docking airlock hatch was still comprised of breathable nitrooxy, so carefully holding his mic in front of him, Gunder cracked the hatch.  He muttered a low oath when he heard a sound that raised the hairs on the nape of his neck, for he knew that sound.  Dreading what he would find, he opened the hatch to its maximum. Sure enough, there was First Officer Wilsson sitting naked on the rocky floor obviously intoxicated.  Worse, he was singing.

“What the shirit?”  Gunder growled, as he stepped through the docking airlock, keeping a cautious eye on the exchange tunnel.

He held his mic out to cover the immediate area, and then he knelt down and sniffed the young officer’s face. 

“Uninhibitor,” he mumbled.

It was exactly what he had expected to sniff.  Whoever Wilsson had met had decided not to kill the intruder.  Uninhibitor was commonly used by police authorities in the Hoop to incapacitate spacers who were engaged in bar fights.  The recalcitrant spacers were easier to haul off to the cage when their fists were useless. Injuring them meant using expensive assets such as a medidoc to repair them; something on which their tax-paying, spaceship captains would insist.

Major  Gunder grabbed the young man under his shoulders and dragged him back into the airlock.  He noted in passing that whoever had used the uninhibitor on Wilsson also had a sense of humor.  The drawings on the First Officer’s body looked like those of a child except for the message on his forehead.

“Uh… oh…” The moans from the First Officer told Major Gunder that the uninhibitor was wearing off.

The First Officer looked up at the Major with bleary red eyes, blinked several times, and then rubbed those eyes.  The younger man struggled to stand and winced at the effort.  When he was on his feet, he wavered for a bit, and then he raised an arm, so he could place his palm against the wall and steady himself.

“What happened?” he asked.

“I’m not sure, Duque,” the Major answered, “But it seems as if someone sprayed you with uninhibitor.”

Duque shook his head, as he tried to gain his balance on his unsteady legs.  Then a memory intruded.

“It was a girl,” he stated with a grimace, “A damned, devious, shiriting girl.”

“A girl?” The Major asked in a neutral voice.  “A girl did this to you?”

“I need a stimulant,” said Duque, “And then I’m going back for her.” 

He stumbled groggily though the airlock hatch and into the shuttle.  The Major started to protest, but then he thought better of it.  He shrugged.  The First Officer would find out sooner or later.  There was no reason for Gunder to bear the brunt of the roar that Duque was likely to emit.  Sergeant Neco entered the airlock looking stunned.

“Does he know…?”

Major Gunder shook his head from side to side.  “But he will.”

Duque collapsed into one of the shuttle’s seats and dozed off.  He was vaguely aware of the vibrations that indicated the shuttle’s movement away from the concrete dock as it made its way back to his ship.  Once the ship arrived, he awoke and groggily followed the others up out of the shuttle.

Duque made his way through the ship toward his cabin.  He startled the ship’s cook, who juggled and then barely caught the platter of food he was delivering to Captain Longlife.  Duque passed the young female weapons officer who pressed herself against the bulkhead and stared straight ahead until he was beyond her.  He passed two more of the crew, one of whom giggled at the sight of him.  Had Duque not been so groggy, he might have wondered at their reaction, for nudity was not uncommon in the close quarters of the ship.  Usually, it was politely ignored.

His head was clearing by the time he found himself at the gleaming access panel to his quarters.  As he pressed his palm to the palm, he was asking himself what had gotten into the crew reader when he caught sight of himself in the gleaming metal.  Stupefied, he stared down at the colorful squiggles on his bare body, and then he let out an angry roar which seemed to shake the whole ship.  Back down the passageway, there was an answering chorus of laughter from various voices.

Angrily, Duque stomped into his quarters and quickly stepped into his radiant cleaner.  The cleansing photons erased some of the indelible coloring, but when he stepped out of the cleaner and examined his image on the reflecting wall, he realized that the indelible markings were going to take a long time to completely disappear. Muttering terrible curses, he grabbed his spare skinsuit, threw on a pair of brown pants and his black hard-cloth jacket, and prepared to return to the rock.  That girl, he thought grimly, is in for an unpleasant surprise.  But before he returned to the rock, he went to speak to the Captain.

Captain Longlife had been alerted to the situation by Major Gunder.  He was curious to see the markings on his First Officer’s body, but unfortunately the First Officer had donned his clothing.  For one instant Captain Longlife considered ordering his First Officer to strip so that he could get a look at the scribbling that everyone on the ship was gossiping about, but with a pang of regret he dismissed the idea.

“Ho, First,” said the Captain, trying to keep a straight face while not staring at the faded message on his First Officer’s forehead. “Report.”

“Ho, Captain,” Duque answered.  “Sir, I encountered a girl inhabiting the rock.”  He gave a brief, rather one sided description of his encounter with the girl and then noted, “I didn't see anyone else, but that doesn't mean that there are not others skulking about.  I suggest she be captured and held as a prisoner.”

“And your rational for doing that would be?” the Captain asked.

Duque hesitated.  “She’s disrespectful, Sir,” he answered with a scowl.  “She needs to be taught a lesson.”

Meaning she embarrassed you, thought Longlife.  “And she could answer some questions,” the captain added helpfully.

“Oh.  Yes.  Yes, Sir, she could be questioned,” Wilsson responded as his face reddened.

Captain Longlife winced mentally.  Whoever she was, the girl had certainly made an impression on his First Officer.  Still, Longlife ran the Closed N’Counter with a light hand, and he was inclined to be indulgent with Wilsson, who had a good rapport with the crew and with the ship’s fighting unit.  And he knew his First Officer well enough to know that the man would not actually hurt the girl.

“Very well, First,” the Captain said, “As long as your interaction with the girl does not affect the operations of the ship, you may do as you see fit.”

“Thank you, Captain,” Duque answered gratefully.

“And now, the rest of your report?” the Captain prompted him.

“Their operations appear to be primitive, Sir,” the First Officer replied.  “They did not have a slide in their docking tunnel, and I saw no obvious signs of advanced equipment.  There were small pieces of junk ore, so they are obviously extracting some of the more precious rare minerals, but I’d be willing to bet that their machinery is old, if not obsolete.  I did not find any evidence of a stockpile, so I’m assuming that whatever vessel they use to move the ore is currently off rock.” 

The First Officer did not mention that he had not gotten very far into the rock before being attacked.  He decided that if he did find a stockpile, he could add that to his report later, after he had snagged the girl.

Once he was dismissed, Duque went back to the shuttle where Major Gunder and his sergeant were waiting.  A few minutes later, they arrived at the concrete dock.

“Are you sure I shouldn't go first this time?” the Major asked tentatively. 

Duque just scowled at his friend, pressed his spare skinsuit mask to his face while adjusting the fit, and then sealed it.  He was not as protected as he would have been while wearing a spacesuit, but he was more agile when wearing only the skinsuit and his clothes.  He grabbed a high energy mic blaster, a launcher, and a belt of electronic impulse killer grenades.  The electromagnetic pulse from a grenade would destroy any nearby electronic equipment containing sensitive chips.

Duque stepped out of the airlock hatch and fastened a grenade to the end of the launcher.  He fired the launcher, and a grenade zipped out, trailing a long copper line that carried a magnetic field.  Far down the concrete tube, the grenade plowed into the side of the concrete, and a burst of high energy magnetic force along the line fried any circuits hidden in the walls of the concrete. Satisfied that any observation equipment was disabled, Duque ejected the spent line and started down the tube.  When he reached the spot where the grenade had hit the side of the tunnel, Duque fired another grenade farther down the tunnel.

Shortly after this, Duque heard a voice cry, “Stop!  Please!  I’m coming out.  I surrender.”

Julee was shaken by the method of his attack.  If he continued, he might damage the life support systems of the rock irreparably, not to mention the communication system and the delicate machinery they used to extract rare elements.  She had waited with her mic gun, her hands shaking as she prepared to defend her home from the invader, but now she could see no recourse but to capitulate. 

If she must, she was ready to surrender their precious hoard of platinum, palladium, and titanium that she, her sisters, and her deceased father had painstakingly carved from the hard rock, but her first thought had to be for the safety of Jara and Davud.  Wendy was depending on her.

“I surrender,” she repeated.

She laid her mic gun on the stone floor of the tunnel and lifted her hands above her head. Hesitantly, she walked forward until she entered the rocky room at the entrance to the concrete tunnel.  Presently a man entered the room from the docking tunnel.  She knew immediately, by the message on his forehead, that it was the same man she had encountered earlier, although now the letters were dulled from a scrubbing he had attempted.

“Hi,” Julee said, greeting him with a smile, trying to make this meeting a more positive encounter.  Her smile dimmed when the man scowled at her.

“Where are the others?” he demanded as his eyes shifted from side to side in the dimly lit room.

“It’s just me,” Julee answered.  “My sisters are gone to First Rock to trade.  I was left to watch our rock.”

“Move over here,” he commanded.

Reluctantly, Julee stepped toward him until she was only a pace away.

He twirled his finger.  “Turn around.”

Julee did so, and then she let out a faint squeak as she felt him grab her wrists and bind them behind her back with a plastic tie.  Once she was secured, Duque grabbed her shoulders and spun her around.  Now came the moment that he had been anticipating.

“Disrobe,” he commanded.

Julee looked back at him in confusion.

“What?” she asked.

“You heard me, disrobe,” he restated.  “You stripped me.  Let’s see how you like it.”

“I can’t.”

“Oh, you can’t, huh?” Duque said with a harsh bark of laughter.  “Are you suddenly feeling an attack of modesty?  You stripped me easy enough.  You heard me, disrobe.”

Julee frowned.  “Are you a twitch?  I can’t take my clothes off with my hands like this.”

Duque silently cursed.  My brain must still be a little addled from the uninhibitor, he thought.  She can’t take off her clothes with her hands bound.

Julee emitted a squeak of fright when she saw Duque pull a skinny long knife out of his belt, and then her heart started pounding when the man grasped her arm and spun her.  She closed her eyes, caught her breath, and said a quick prayer to the Spirit as she waited for the knife’s plunge. Then she felt her wrists release.  She breathed a sigh of relief, as she realized that he had used the knife to cut the plastic tie.

As she turned, she rubbed her sore wrists where the tie had dug into her soft skin.  She glanced at the man, and when he glared at her, she reached for the zipper at her neck and pulled it down to her crotch.  Quickly, she shrugged out of the skinsuit, pushing it down until she could step out of it and drop it to one side.

  Duque stood there triumphantly, allowing the girl’s discomfiture to continue.  But actually Julee was perfectly comfortable in her bare skin, for that was often the only thing that she and her sisters wore as they lived in their rock, especially since her father had died.  She had never lived in a society where clothes were a social imperative. Perhaps, as Davud grew older, that would change, but for now Julee had no qualms about standing naked before Duque. 

In truth, he was only the third male she had ever met, and although she was still frightened for her sister and her brother, she was also very curious.  She knew what this man looked like unclothed, although the room where she had captured him was dimly lit, but she had not taken the time to examine his body closely.  Now, she wished that she had done so.

Her curiosity was mostly due to her lack of familiarity with men.  Unlike most of the Hoopers, her father had not approved of much of what was available on the graph, so except for certain graph locations concerning scientific education, most graphations were off limits to the girls.  Off course, that did not stop Jara from trying to gain access to forbidden parts of the graph, and Wendy was old enough to ignore her father’s admonitions, but Julee still obeyed her father’s wishes in this matter.

Now she wished that she had been a little less obedient.  It would be helpful to know something about men in this situation, such as how to mollify one, so she could get safely out of this state of affairs.  She tried to think of something to say, but her mind remained uncooperative.

Duque was waiting for the girl to make some indication of the humiliation she must be feeling, such as an attempt to cover her private parts, but the girl just stared at him blankly.  Perhaps that was due to the dimness of the light in this tunnel. It was difficult to tell what she really looked like. Irritated, and feeling that he was somehow losing the upper hand, Duque finally dropped the butt of his weapon against the ground and leaned it against the wall.

“Turn around,” he ordered.

Obediently, Julee turned and a second later she felt the loop of another plastic tie around her wrists.  For a second she felt him hesitate as he was tightening the loop, and then he stepped back.  Julee moved her wrists and realized that the man had not tightened the loop as tight as he had the first time.  Perhaps he had noticed her rubbing her wrists.  She thought if she strained and accepted some pain, she might be able to work her wrists free.  She was not about to do so however, for he still had the advantage.

“Turn around,” she heard him say.

She turned and saw that he was making another loop of a much longer plastic tie.  Her heart started pounding again when he looped this tie over her head, but he did not pull the loop tight; he simply turned back toward his ship and gave a little tug.  Meekly, Julee followed him back up the tunnel.

We’ll see how she reacts when she gets to the light from the shuttle dock, Duque thought. He glanced back suspiciously from time to time, as if he expected her to attempt to escape or maybe to attack him, but she was staring down at the path before her.  Once she stumbled but quickly righted herself.

As they approached the docking airlock, Duque raised his rom to his mouth and said, “All secure, Gunder,”

A voice from the rom said, “Say again.”

“First, say again, first,” said Duque, stating the code words clearly.  Julee gave him a puzzled look.

Satisfied that Duque was not under duress, Major Gunder activated the light and airlock switches.  Julee heard the groan of metal against the seals, and then the airlock hatch swung open and a bright light spilled out.  She watched as Duque turned toward her, and then her eyes widened when she saw the look of surprise on his face and saw how his jaw dropped open.  She turned and looked down the tunnel, worried that her sister or brother had followed them.

Spirit, she’s a sleeky, thought Duque with reluctant admiration.  Even though he was still angry at the girl, honesty forced him to admit that she was very lovely and very desirable.  Her smooth brown skin was slightly darker than his. Her breasts were full and high on her chests, and the sight of her dark n*****s caused his fingers to suddenly itch.  Her torso tapered nicely to her waist and then spread around her shapely hips. He was tempted to order her to do a slow rotation for his viewing pleasure.

Her silky black hair hung to just below her shoulders.  As she turned her head back to give him an inquisitive look, he noticed how her black irises sparkled as they caught the light streaming from the airlock.

Duque swallowed, and then said brusquely, “Come along.”

Julee followed Duque into the airlock, and waited nervously as the outer hatch closed and the inner hatch began its opening cycle.  As the inner hatch swung away, she glanced upward at the airlock imager that showed the view down the concrete tunnel.  There was no one to be seen, so she hoped Julee and Davud were safe.

Duque gave her a little push, and she was forced to exit the airlock and enter the body of the shuttle.  Major Gunder’s startled eyes widened as the nude girl entered the shuttle, but he managed to keep his face impassive.  Sergeant Neco stared openly until he realized that the First Officer was glaring at him.  Then he quickly turned his attention to the faded and cracked cloth on the back of the headrest in front of his seat.

“Where are you taking me?”  Julee asked as she sat down on one of the cushioned seats.

“To our ship,” Duque replied with a forbidding tone and a frown.

Julee wanted to ask more, but his demeanor seemed to veto that.  She felt better now that they were away from Jara and Davud, and her curiosity was building toward excitement.  The only spaceship on which she had ever traveled was Mackenzie’s Wallower, the ancient and decrepit spaceship owned by her deceased father and now captained by her sister, Wendra.

In spite of her trepidation, she was keenly anticipating her first look at another ship.  Ahead, at the front of the shuttle, she could look through two windows made of quartz glass.  The shuttle was a simple tube with cupolas at either end.  The seats were attached to circular rails, so they could be moved from side to side.  A chemical rocket was positioned at the rear of the ship, and gas thrusters circled the skin of the small vessel.

As the shuttle jetted toward the Close N’Counter, the ship gradually came into Julee’s view.  Her mouth opened when she saw the spaceship that was barely lit by the light of distant Saif, the star of her solar system.  Her first impression was that the ship looked like a needle which had pierced a giant ring, so that the ring was half way along the length of the needle. There were lights along the circumference of the ring, and as they neared, Julee realized that the ring was spinning around the needle.  When they got closer, she saw the long slender spokes that ran from the ring to the needle; now the ring looked more like a wheel.

“How long is that?” she exclaimed.

“The line is five miles in length, and the loop is four miles in diameter,” Duque replied absently.  He had come forward to stand beside her.

“It’s amazing,” she murmured.

“It is,” the First Officer acknowledged with a nod.  “It’s too far to see from here, but the plasma engines are on your left.  The line is surrounded by loading vents that suck in argon or other gases that can be used to create plasma.  There’s a newer line model being built that can detach from the loop and sling through the edge of Junior to pick up the gases from the planet’s atmosphere. That one will be a long-rider, of course”

Julee nodded.  He was speaking of the ships that traveled all the way to the gaseous giant planet, Junior, bringing back argon and other gases which were sold to ships that could only travel within the Hoop.  Then she sensed Duque stiffen next to her.

“But that’s nothing you need to know,” he said roughly.  “You’re my prisoner now.  You belong to me.  Maybe I’ll sell you on Agsha.”

His intention to frighten her failed, for although Julee knew that slavery was common on many rocks in the Hoop, she was unaware of the despicable conditions under which many slaves were forced to live, and she had no knowledge of the terrible place known as ‘Agsha.’

Duque was angry at himself for forgetting that he was punishing this girl for humiliating him.  He had started a conversation without thinking, but now he was determined to give her a scare.

“What’s your name, girl?” he demanded pompously.

“Julee Mackenzie, Sir.  What’s your name?”

“Never mind that, Mackenzie.  All you need to know is that you are in big trouble.”

Julee did not reply, for she already knew she was in trouble.  Thankfully, her brother and sister were safe, at least for now.  She was wondering how she could get back to their rock, but a part of her was anticipating the visit to this man’s spaceship.

When the shuttle closed on the spaceship ring, control of its thruster system was automatically switched to the large ship’s rom. This was a safety precaution that avoided the possibility of a deranged or disgruntled crewperson crashing the shuttle into the ship.  The shuttle matched the motion of the turning ring and then gradually slid onto the docking port, so that a hatch on the ceiling of the shuttle was connected to the ring.  Julee heard the faint squeal of metallic stress from the ring’s pull on the shuttle, and felt the faint nausea from the slight change in her body’s direction.  The clamps on the ring were sealed to the shuttle’s frame, so now the hatch could open and a ladder could be lowered into the shuttle.

As they waited for the hatch to open and the ladder to be lowered, Duque took a look around for any loose items.  He caught the sergeant staring at Julee again, but the man quickly looked way when he realized he was under the First Officer’s irritated gaze. 

Duque had anticipated marching Julee naked through the ship as if she was a captured trophy, but as the hatch was opening, he suddenly removed his jacket and slung it over the girls shoulder.  Surprised, Julee looked up into his brown eyes.

“I’m not cold,” she offered as the hatch unsealed and moved sideways into its slot within the shuttle’s frame.

“Shut up and zip up,” he growled in response as he cut the plastic tie around her wrists.

Duque couldn’t say just why he had done this, but he justified his actions by telling himself that, since the girl was his prisoner, she rightfully belonged to him, and so he was the only one who should be allowed to view her luscious body.  As Julee finished zipping Duque’s jacket, the arriving system opened the hatch and automatically lowered the ladder into the interior of the small vessel.  Duque gestured toward the soldiers, and the sergeant climbed the ladder followed by the major.

“Go,” Duque ordered with an ungentle prod, so Julee obediently followed the major up the ladder.  As the First Officer began his assent, he looked up.  His jacket fell down to the girl’s thighs, but from this direction the view was striking and alluring, and Duque felt his mouth go suddenly dry.

The acceleration of the ring gave the structure gravity which was similar to that of Julee’s rock, so she quickly adjusted to the light force.  Her first thought was that the room looked a lot like the storage rooms on her rock, and in that view she was correct.  Along the bulkheads were metal racks containing various items, most of which were strapped down by flexible cords. In addition to the racks, there were cabinets stacked so that they reached from the floor to the ceiling.  One of the cabinets was covered with grabbit and grabbit slippers.  Julee obey a gesture from the older soldier by removing a pair of slippers from the grabbit and slipping them on her bare feet.  They were much warmer than the bare metal decking and she smiled gratefully at the soldier.  Her captor reached their level and stepped off the ladder.  She expected him at any moment to grab her plastic lead again, but he ignored it.

Julee followed the soldiers out of the room and found herself in a wide passageway with a low ceiling.  She immediately suspected that the passageway ran the diameter of the giant ring, for she could see far down the passageway until the far curve of the giant structure was lost against the ceiling. 

One side of the passageway floor was covered with the tiny hooks of grabbit carpeting, and she assumed that it was for those times when the ring’s spin was stopped and the false gravity of its acceleration was not available.  There were two people standing on the grabbit, but she saw no one on it that was moving purposely.  The other side of the passageway floor was steel with tiny corrugations running diagonally.  This was the side on which two men carrying boxes were striding, and as they entered the passageway, the soldiers moved on to the grabbit carpeting to allow the men to pass. 

Julee stopped at the entrance, eager to examine the interior of the ring, but Duque was right behind her, and he grabbed her arm and pushed her forward and then to the right. Looking over her shoulder, she saw the soldiers gaze speculatively at her for a moment and then walk away in the opposite direction.

Although his hand was tight on her shoulder, Julee was surprised but relieved at Duque’s action, for she had expected him to lead her by the plastic tie still hanging around her neck.  She was spared that embarrassment, but when they passed by a room that appeared to be a kitchen, she was subjected to the stares and whispers of the people who were sitting at a table in that room.  They passed other compartments, most of which had their door closed, and cross passageways that led to passageways parallel to the one through which she was marched. Occasionally, a door was open, and Julee was able to see into the room.  Most of these appeared to be sleeping chambers, and sometimes Julee saw individuals lying on bunks or sitting at desks.

After a ten minute stroll, Julee and her captor arrived at a closed door.  The man pressed his thumb against a small panel next to the door, and the door slid sideways into a slot in the wall. Julee could see that this room was definitely a sleeping berth, but unlike the others they had passed, this sleeping berth was much larger, less austere, and appeared to be designed for only one person.

Duque gave the girl a light shove, forcing her into his room.  As she entered, she tripped on a pair of his pants which were lying on the floor, and she stumbled onto the wide bed which occupied the center of the room and whose metal headboard abutted the far bulkhead.

Julee sat up on the bed and turned to the man.  He was glaring down at her.

“Why are you so grumpy?” she asked in a rather grumbling tone.

She instantly regretted her words, for she saw by his expression they had only made him angrier.  He did not speak, but he yanked his shirt over his head, and then he brutally unzipped his skinsuit down to his crotch, and spread the two sides.  The face on his stomach smiled happily at Julee.

“Oh,” she said in a more subdued voice.

She could not defend herself without revealing the existence of Jara and David, so she said nothing else.  The man stripped off his skinsuit and pulled on his clothes.

“Stay here,” he barked, and abruptly he left the room.

Julee sat motionless on the bed for a few minutes and then she rose and checked the door. It was locked.  She was trapped.