A little known man in scifi.
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#prometheus   #scifi   #sciencefiction   #gif   #christmas  

Future Combined with Science Fiction Stories, vol 1 no 1, May/June 1950. Cover art by Earle K. Bergey.
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#SaturdayScenes #ScienceFiction #Anthropomorphic #GeneticModification #CyberPunk
Today, Kaniko and her friends meet Nonna’s former master.

City of Passage, book 2 of the Passage Series

* The Glass House, Part 1*

Nonna stopped the car. To the right was a green space full of shady trees bordered with tulips of various colors and patterns. To the left across the street was an ice cream parlor. It's windows shown 3D images of fancy sodas and gloriously sweet sundaes.

Kaniko looked at her cousin, "Who is here that is going to provide us useful information?

Nonna smiled, "An old friend." She opened her door and climbed out. The others followed her across the street to the ice cream parlor. She looked in through the windows and turned back towards the park.

They began to walk through the park. At first, Nonna seemed to be wandering aimlessly along in random directions. It became apparent after a few minutes that she was looking for something or someone. Kaniko noticed a glass building up a head, and they seemed to be heading towards it.

Tomiroc touched her on the arm and silently said to her, "There are other Otokononeko here." Kaniko followed his gaze and saw a female feline laying on her belly, with her tail curled up in the air. A young human girl sat before her looking down at her. Every so often the cat would laugh and reach out and touch the girl. In an open area of the park, two Otokononeko tossed a neon green disk between them. A blue-gray husky ran back and forth barking in pursuit of the disk.

Nonna turned more directly for the glass building. As they approached, Kaniko saw a small plaque to one side of the entrance which read, "Donated to the city of Freedom's Rise for the children." At the bottom was a name.

Kaniko stopped and stared, she read for Mathias and the others, "Nonna Koibito." Nonna turned and looked at her cousin. Kaniko turned from the sign and looked at her. "What is this?"

Without missing a beat, "Just what it seems."

Mathias looked at the plaque and turned to the older feline. Tomiroc continued to stare at the sign. Irritated, Kaniko said, "You donated a glass house to the park?"

She smiled and answered, "It's an arboretum, and yes I did. It is in remembrance of the children of this city that didn't find freedom like I did."

She moved to the door and held it open for them to enter. The air inside was warmer and humid than the cool of the park outside. The smells of dozens of flowers assaulted their senses. Kaniko stifled a laugh as Mathias' nose lifted and swung around, catching all the various smells. Plants were hanging from chains and hooks all around them. Many were potted and displayed on long tables or shelves. Kaniko checked the citynet to identify the variety of plants in the place. Many were orchids, but not all. There were bulb plants, succulents, and a host of colorful perennials.

Nonna approached a human with his back to them. He was standing before a low table. Still a meter from him, she stopped and said, "Robert?"

The man stopped pruning the small green plant in front of him. He turned slowly around, still holding the plant shears in his left hand. He started, "May I help..." A look of shock passed across his face as recognition hit him. He smiled and greeted, "Nonna."

Kaniko looked at the man and turned to her cousin, then back to the human. His hair had touches of gray at the tips. He was tall and thin. His skin was clear and his eyes were bright blue. He was disarmingly handsome for a human. She looked and wondered how this could be the same man from Nonna's past. He didn't seem to be a bad man at first glance. Her first impression was kind and peaceful.

Nonna asked, "How have you been?"

He gave a genuine smile. "Very good and you?"

"I'm good."

He looked at Nonna and waited for her to say or do something. Then he became aware that he still held the scissors. He turned to the table, set them down, and turned back to find Nonna's tall Otokononeko form standing close to him. He stood with his hands at his side. Kaniko wondered if it was the conditioning that prevented him from reaching out to Nonna. But as she watched, her cousin didn't leave him a choice as she reached out to him and hugged him.

She said into his shoulder, "It's been awhile, and you look good." She pushed away from him and looked up into his blue eyes. "But I'm afraid we aren't here on a social call to reminisce about the past."

He smiled again. "Most likely just as well, I think."

She nodded her agreement. She turned to the others and introduced, "Robert, this is my cousin Kaniko Gamble-Walsh and her two friends Mathias and Tomiroc. Guys, this is Robert.

Robert scrubbed his right hand on his pants and stuck it out towards Kaniko. He said as a greeting, "So you're Persius and Dutchess' daughter?"

Kaniko nodded and took the man's hand to shake. His grip was soft and gentle. He shook hands with Mathias and Tomiroc, then turned back to Nonna. "So, what brings you back to the city?"

She turned and indicated in Mathias' direction. "Our friend here. We think he may have originated here. He was a victim of forced transformation into his current form."

The man looked at the wolf and then back to Nonna puzzled. "How can I help?"

She smiled nervously, "I need you to help us get in contact with some of your former associates."

Alarm colored the human's face, and he took an involuntary step back from the group. "You know I can't do that. It would violate..."

Next week, Robert reacts to his freedom.

All rights reserved 2016 John J. Sanders

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Welcome to the first book of the Ambasadora space opera series! #sciencefiction

#saturdayscenes of Dec 17 and another excerpt of my new #sciencefiction novel "Search". Next week I will be doing two Christmas stories. An older one and a fresh, new one. Both shorties.

For this one I wanted to do an excerpt for chapter four but I found it to be rather short with no action scenes. It doesn't have to have action but it does need something more. So this is the first 2,000 words of the beginning of chapter six. And I find that I forgot to go back and add the opening to this scene in chapter five, which will add words to the length of the book-that's good. But in it an acquaintance of Ray's turns out to be not nearly as friendly as Ray thought. It seems like the search for this artifact is making people jealous and/or greedy.

I revised a few parts of this section and spell checked it but as I have stated before the full revision is for later.

Excerpt begins:

A mini shuttle buzzed them while they ran from two larger ones. A third and fourth mini could be seen headed their way. Both produced a lot more smoke than they should, which gave an indication of their age and who well maintained they were. Yet that didn’t seem to slow them down or interfere with they firing. The accuracy of the pilots was another matter. It wasn’t half as good as he thought it would be. Either they were playing with him or they were lousy shots. He suspected their two big brothers would have better weapons and aiming computers. The ships definitely looked newer.
He flipped the Eyeball over, rolled it sideways, came around, sunk, hit the accelerator. His ship was faster than those shuttles if he could get away from the minis. They were armed with small blaster cannons that could wear down the shields. They may not do much damage through the armored hull but they could knock off antenna and damage the tail section, maybe even wreck the barrels of his weapons if they decided to take that chance. Two flew over head and he saw a chance to distract them for a couple of seconds.
The Eyeball rose so fast it caught the pilots by surprise. He saw the fear on one face as that pilot tried his hardest to get his ship out of the path. He spun it around, over did it. As the mini moved he must have hit the accelerator for his speed increased. But he didn’t watch where he was going though. Two other minis coming in together had to abort their run and get out of his way. He jinked back and forth a those two sank and gunned theirs out of the way.
The second mini above the Eyeball had more time. About two-seconds Ray thought. It pivoted as it rose in an attempt to keep ahead of the Eyeball. That pilot tilted his ship nose first and drove it top first.
Ray smiled for a moment but kept his rejoicing to only a second. They still were in a nova. Sensors reported two more minis coming in. He accelerated on past them. Three came together at him.
Where is he getting all these minis?
He flipped the Eyeball backwards flew on up side down form his original position. Ping like sounds indicated they fired on him, but from a distance that wouldn’t do much harm, so he ignored it for now.
A chime sounded, and he glanced at the sensors, and his heart froze for a beat, sweat slid down his back and sides. Those larger shuttles were suddenly a lot closer, almost in laser range. Two explosions near his cockpit showed he now flew within their blaster range.
Bile rolled upwards from his stomach, those blasts showed their shots could penetrate his shields and probably his armor. And they showed no sign of giving up, they wanted him, out of the picture if not dead.
“Weapons hot.”
Instantly a new image jumped into existence. Auto cannon in three places, six lasers in the front and a larger laser turret in the aft end. That could cover not only directly behind the Eyeball but covered a range on either side and above it. Not anything for under the craft though, which still surprised him.
He turned sideways but kept the ship moving in the same direction. He moved a triangle on top of the closest mini, waited a moment and touched the firing image. Three beams of light shot out from lasers on each side of the nose. He touched the same spot twice more.
None of the shots hit the mini but it took off fast. He spun the ship around fired three more shots at the incoming lead shuttle. Four hit it. Its shields must have absorbed the hit but the craft slowed and a reading showed that its pilot fed more power to its forward shields.
Three solid hits through from the rear bounced the Eyeball a little. Ray dropped the ship and lifted the nose a touch and fired at the second shuttle. Four rounds this time. More of the beams hit that craft for it shook and drifted for a second-so some damage to its controls.
He lifted the Eyeball pivoted, shot at one mini, who avoided the shots, but spun made a very quick, share turn and fired again. Those hit a mini with enough force to send it tumbling. While he turned Ray fired the auto cannons on the left side. Some of those shots missed while other smashed into a mini. Its nose tilted down when its drives went offline.
The air seemed to become warmer in the cockpit, his imagination. He smelled sweat and flowers when Raul moved to the co-pilot’s seat.
“I can fire the weapons as you pilot.”
Ray moved the Eyeball to the left and sideways a heart beat then down to avoid incoming fire. “Can you fire at people?”
“Yes, I have. I have also practiced with the simulator.”
Ray had just thought about Raul needing practice. And now that he didn’t have time to argue . “A compromise. You take the auto cannons. We shall see how you do.”
Raul waved a hand over his controls, certain images appeared in front of him, at his eye level. “Okay.”
Ray flipped the ship over, rolled it three times. In the middle of the second one Raul fired. Only a couple of shots hit their target though.
“Not easy as we move in for real.”
Raul glanced at him and fired again. This time a set of five shots all hit another mini, its shields flared and the fifth one hit the mini’s hull. Ray could imagine alarms ringing inside it even though as far as he could see it hadn’t penetrate all the through the hull, but it had created significant damage.
Impacts along the Eyeball’s hull caused him to jerk and to get his hands moving. The Eyeball dived and continued down for three heart beats, started a weaving in and out maneuver. He came out of it with a spin move. The Eyeball ended up with its nose aimed at the shuttle racing toward it. He triggered the lasers in a sustained set. Six times a set of burning light went out. Most impacted against the shuttles’s shields, a few missed. The shields stayed up.
Those shields are very good for a shuttle like that.
Another burst as the shuttle returned fire. Not only with lasers but ion impulses and blaster fire too. He swung to the right to avoid half of the incoming fire. The eyeball’s shield sparked as it absorbed the hits. The ion charges must have done some damage to them. He rotated and the rear laser fired at the second shuttle. It missed the first shot but not second and third.
More pings on the shields, he smelled burnt plastic but wasn’t sure if that was real or his imagination again. He pivoted again. Raul fired, but this time most of the shots missed. He peeled off again and headed up at half speed. Then turned slightly and increased acceleration. But they were hit again. He flapped backwards onto his back and fired all the lasers. Some punched at a shuttle. Three made it through this time, but no real damage.
Damn, the shuttles are armored.
A set of cannon shots also hit that shuttle, it bounced and peeled off in another direction. Ray thought they would be back, so he turned the ship to leave. A glance at sensors and he dived as quick as he could move his fingers. Buzzers sounded, lights flashed outside the cockpit as laser beams impact the Eyeball. It stopped, then continued. Sparks flew from the co-pilots station. He tried to fire the rear laser but the turret wouldn’t index right, the beam went wide. He flipped the aft end down and out of the barrage and managed to fire the front lasers. Beams shot out skewered one mini and damaged a third shuttle. But it recovered and a pod that rolled around and let loose with ten short duration lasers. Most of the fiery beams hit the Eyeball even as two of the Eyeball’s lasers took out the laser ball.
The ship jerked, he was sent into his straps, his head bounced on the seat’s headrest. One knee bang the corneal panel. An odor of smoke rose, real this time, he felt heat on one arm and heard a fizzing then a yelp from Raul.
He’s hurt
Ray managed to reach out and adjust the ship’s course. One arm hurt, must have been strained by the bouncing. But that didn’t matter, they had to get out of there. Half a dozen thumps let him know that the blasters still worked. He spared a glance at Raul. His face showed pain but also determination. One hand was near the weapons control. As he brought his eyes back to his own controls he swept the warning lights. Only one showed red.
The hull warning!
His mind froze—bile came up, but his It must not be all the way through or avery loud alarm would sound. He hadn’t heard it but the computer assured him it would sound very loud, no matter what else was happening.
An opening appeared on one screen, he rotated the ship and pressed accelerate. It shot forward after a moment. He shook his head, it had taken more damage.
A shuttle crossed in front of the Eyeball but laser beams lashed out. All four hit the smaller craft. It was knocked off course with a spray of sparks from its shields.
Raul said, “Got it.” It looked like plasma or smoke leaked from the rear.
“Good.”
A warning chime and he spun the ship around. Again Raul fired the lasers, only two hit but he followed up with the blasters. Half hit but the other shuttle tumbled away.
The Eyeball had continued to head out even as it faced the other way. Ray turned the ship back toward where he wanted to go and increased speed. This time no one was around to hinder them which meant they made it away. Sparks still shot our of one area of Raul’s controls, the images of one were blank, another image flickered. The burnt stink grew.
Burning plastic, ceramics and fused electronics made him cough and sneeze. He wanted to spit. But he wondered at the power that caused the circuits to burn. They were suppose to be made out of something that wouldn’t burn. Yet they had. He thought he had replacements but now wasn’t the time to find them or to fix what was damaged.
Ray shook his head. Raul was hurt, even though his apprentice tried to hold it in, Ray could hear little moans. But there wasn’t anything he could do for him, until they far enough away so they didn’t have to worry about pursuit. This had been his fault for he had gone to a rival to check up on what he was doing. The man was not nice, but Ray never figured on him ambushing the Eyeball like that. He could have reacted sooner but he hadn’t thought his rival would react like that. Did Shoin think Ray could find it before him and get the bonus? Or did he think that Ray worked with the Law? Ray had seen evidence that Shoin had attacked other seekers but not enough to know who or how many. That type of thing had happened before so it wasn’t as if it was unexpected. The money offered brought out all types, even newbies looking for a good rep or old timers desperate enough to try. So violence would happen. None of them were all that law abiding anyway.
Maybe Shoin thought Ray had a line on where it was. But he didn’t. bonus? Or did he think that Ray worked with the Law? Ray had seen evidence that Shoin had attacked other seekers but not enough to know who or how many. That type of thing had happened before so it wasn’t as if it was unexpected. The money offered brought out all types, even newbies looking for a good rep or old timers desperate enough to try. So violence would happen. None of them were all that law abiding anyway.
Maybe Shoin thought Ray had a line on where it was. But he didn’t.

end excerpt

#action #spacebattles #indienovels #freebies #spacestories #war 

Sarah’s Spaceship Adventure #saturdayscenes #sciencefiction #romance #spaceships #asteroids #newadult
Chapter Thirteen A Big Deal (part 2)
By Stan Morris
Copyright 2013, 2016

Author’s Note: Pall Swiftcar, captain of a merchant space freighter, and Sarah Talmaiz, his new bride, have landed at Boutique, an asteroid in the huge Hoop asteroid belt. They were welcomed more effusively than what Pall expected, raising his suspicions. Sarah’s not worried. Now they have met, Elle, a representative from Boutique.

“Captain Swiftcar, I apologize for the misunderstanding concerning your treatment upon your arrival,” Elle said. “We don’t get much freighter traffic, so we go out of our way to make any freighter captain who stops by feel welcome. I understand why that might seem suspicious, but I assure you it’s just a matter of business.”

“What do you mean?” Sarah asked.

“We do a good deal of business in the Hoop, but we're having trouble expanding. A lot of wholesalers are skeptical that our products will be popular beyond a certain higher end niche group, so when a freighter stops by it’s a chance to show off our wares and maybe get a major contract. I hope you understand why we want to make you feel as welcome as possible.”

“I see. That makes a lot of sense,” he admitted. “I’m sorry if I sounded ungrateful.”

“We need to polish our social skills, a bit,” Elle replied with a sparkling laugh, missing Pall’s wince. “It’s difficult deciding how much to fete our visitors without annoying them.”

“We appreciate everything you've done for us,” Sarah said with an understanding smile. “And we are definitely here to examine your wares. I’ve seen some shoes that originated here, and I’d love to see more of them.”

“Ah, are you speaking of our higher heels?” Elle asked with a big grin that showed off her perfectly straight, white teeth.

“That is exactly what I’m speaking of. When we were on Mackenzie’s Rock, I saw Valencia wearing them.”

“She’s been very supportive, and they have been well received in some quarters. But none of the freighter captains to whom we’ve sent a pair has responded favorably. Would you like to see them now?”

“We’re just past the end of our wake cycle. Would it possible to see them after we sleep?”

“Of course,” said Elle. “Our working cycle will end in another hour anyway, so I’m sure our sales people at Storks will be more than happy to wait for the next one. Why don’t you ding me when you’re ready to look around our rock? I’ll gnote you my graph address.”

“That would be wonderful. Thank you very much.”

After Elle left, Sarah turned to Pall. “What do you think?”

“I think I’m glad you’re here to talk to that woman,” he muttered. “I hope this doesn't turn out to be a wild comet chase.”


They slept and woke refreshed. When Sarah dinged Elle, the sales manager offered to send a salesperson to their room with samples of the shoes, but Sarah asked if Pall and she could meet the guide at the retail store where the shoes were sold.

“I want to see how they're displayed,” she explained.

Elle agreed that Sarah’s request was reasonable, so she sent Daysee to guide them to Stork’s. Pall did his best to be gracious and to praise the young woman’s work. Daysee responded favorably to his efforts, and by the time they arrived at the store, she was once again the cheerful effervescent girl they had met on their arrival at Boutique.

Sarah became rapt with pleasure as they made their way through the well designed and stylish tunnels, but she was not paying attention as they approached the entrance to Storks. She was glancing over her shoulder at a dress hanging in a show window across the hallway, and then she turned to look through the glass of the shoe store.
She stopped, stunned at what she saw.

“I must have died and gone to Earth,” she stated in amazement.

Pall frowned. “This doesn’t make sense. There’s nothing in here but shoes.”

“Yes, that’s right,” Sarah said with a sigh of pleasure. “Have you ever seen a store devoted entirely to shoes? I haven’t. This is so swift.”

She gazed reverently around the store, and then her eyes opened wide.

“I see what they’re doing,” she said, excitement in her voice. “They're specializing. This could be a whole new way of marketing. Shops devoted to one type of product.”

“Why would you want to shop in a place that has only one type of product,” Pall asked, bewildered by the idea. “Don’t you see how much more energy you would waste traveling from place to place.”

“Yes, but think of how much more expertise you might find. Your sales personnel could concentrate on learning about one kind of product. Can you find that type of expertise in a regular Marl market store?”

“Well, that’s true,” Pall conceded. “But there are specialty shops already. What about a hardware shop? That’s a specialty shop.”

“That’s right, Pall. And I can’t see a shop devoted entirely to pants or blouses. But there are shops on Marl that only sell bridal dresses. I think that a shoe shop might work.”

“It would have to be a product that was very special. But these higher heels could be that kind of product.”

“Yes. Very few people are going to purchase expensive grabbit slippers, unless they're hand made for the super-rich. Why would you? That must the problem with these higher heels. Only the rich like Valencia are purchasing them right now. They would need to be mass produced to get the price down. And if they became popular, sooner or later the regular market stores would find a manufacturer on Marl.”

“Unless there was a patent and a trademark on them.”

Their eyes met. “A patent,” they chorused.

“That might work,” Pall said. “Even if someone started selling something similar, a trademark on a particular brand might be very valuable.”

“If I can talk Elle into patenting the Boutique brand would you be willing to advance me enough assets to take a full bin back to Marl?”

“No, but I’ll advance you enough to take several boxes of samples. If you can get a contract, I’m sure Pai will agree to invest in a whole shipment.”

“Okay, I’ll talk to Elle."

“Why don’t you let me talk to her?” Pall suggested. “No offense, but she sounded like she would rather deal with the captain.”

“That’s true, but I get the feeling I speak her language a little better than you."

“All right, then, let’s both talk to her.”

Sarah dinged Elle and asked for a meeting. She did not have to wait long. Elle was obviously anxious to make a deal, so she cut short whatever she was doing and met them for lunch at a posh restaurant. When Sarah and Pall arrived, a young man wearing expensive black pants, a white silky shirt, and a blood red sash greeted them and escorted them past waiting diners to a private, glossy wooden table that must have cost a small fortune to import. When a waiter approached with the house mead, their escort ordered him to return the house mead and to bring a bottle of expensive Marl ale.

“I could really get used to this service, Captain."

“These people are as smooth as a ballistic orbit,” Pall muttered. “Hang on to your wallet.”

Elle arrived a few minutes later and was immediately escorted to their table.

“Did you like the way the shoes were displayed?” she asked anxiously.

“I love it,” said Sarah. “I think you really have a marketable concept here.”

She suddenly turned to Pall. “I know what might be a good specialty shop,” she said.

“What?” Pall asked with a nervous sideways glance at Elle. He was not used to discussing new business ideas in front of strangers.

“A viver shop where you can find different types of viver appliances, and where the sales personnel know a lot about the specifications of the tanks and bowls."

“Maybe. Let’s talk about it later, okay?”

“Oops, sorry,” said Sarah as she turned back to Elle. “Your shop has got me thinking about all kinds of possibilities.”

“I’m glad you liked it, Sarah,” Elle said, “because it was my idea to set it up that way.”

“We like your shoes,” Pall said. “And the idea of a specialty shoe shop might work if you sell your shoes with the Boutique label on them and patent the style.”

“Do you think the Marlens would give us a patent on them?” Elle asked, raising her sculptured eyebrows. “They’re not exactly friendly to Hoopers.”

“That’s a good point.” He thought about the problem for a moment. “On the other hand, it may not be necessary for them to know that the shoes are coming from the Hoop, at least not at first. You seem to know Valencia. Why don’t you contact her, and ask her if her sister would be willing to represent you? Isn’t her sister the woman who represented Jara Mackenzie in Children’s Intercession Court?”

“That’s right,” Elle exclaimed. “Val’s sister did represent the Mackenzie girl. I’ll ding her immediately. That’s a swift suggestion, Captain Swiftcar.”

“Here’s what we can do for you,” Pall said. “We’ll buy two hundred pair at cost and take them to Marl on our next trip. Then we’ll use them to find an investor willing to set up a higher heel shoe shop in an upscale mall. If we're successful, we’ll let the investor take the shoes on consignment with the condition that we set the price. If we can’t find an investor, we’ll try to sell the shoes to an upscale shop that sells other clothing.”

“I don’t know if we can provide two hundred pair before you leave,” Elle replied with a worried look.

“We’ll need to get a high quality manufacturer to make them to your specifications anyway,” Pall responded.

“What about Jak?” Sarah asked. “Can they be made in the Pebbles?”

Pall nodded. “That’s a good idea.”

Elle hesitated. “I really appreciate this, Captain, but I’m not sure about putting our name on a product someone else is manufacturing, and that I can’t oversee.”

“There’s no way to get around this part, Elle. You don’t have the resources on Boutique to manufacture them in the quantities you’ll need. You’ll need to downrock them closer to Marl. But Jak does quality work, and he has a reputation for honesty. Just make sure your attorney looks over the contracts carefully before you thumb anything. And before we accept delivery, we’ll graph you a hologram of the product and give you the final approval.”

“That will work,” Elle replied, looking relieved. “I can’t begin to tell you how much I appreciate this, Captain Swiftcar. I’ve been trying so hard to get a deal with a reputable shipper.”

The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, May 1962. Cover by Ed Emshwiller.
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#scifi #sciencefiction #EdEmshwiller #EMSH #magazinecover #1960s

Galaxy Science Fiction Novel #25: The Last Spaceship by Murray Leinster, 1955. Cover by Ed Emshwiller.
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#scifi #sciencefiction #EdEmshwiller #bookcover #1950s

Avon Science Fiction Reader No 3 featuring “The Robot Empire” by Frank Belknap Long, 1952. Great cover art by Earle Bergey.
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#scifi #sciencefiction #EarleBergey #magazinecover #1950s

#Scifi #ScienceFiction 

Sarah’s Spaceship Adventure #saturdayscenes #sciencefiction #romance #spaceships #asteroids #newadult
Chapter Thirteen A Big Deal (part 3)
By Stan Morris
Copyright 2013, 2016

Pall wandered along the main corridor of the rock looking into the various show windows. For the most part, they held elegant clothing for mostly older women. Some of the dresses interested him as he imagined how they would look on his wife.

Thinking of Sarah as my wife filled Pall with satisfaction. As he perused the goods in the windows, he began to consider how each item would look if his wife was wearing it. At one point, he noticed a dress he thought would look exceptionally nice on Sarah, so he went into the store and asked a salesclerk about it. He was disappointed to learn that the store had recently sold out that item. Now that he was in the store, Pall decided to look around. There were other dresses available, but none that caught his eye. This shop did not specialize in any one item of clothing. There were blouses, and pants, and skirts, and even shoes, although they had none of the higher heels in which Sarah was interested.

As he was passing by a rack, he chanced on a manikin. The stone body was wearing a pair of very tight black panties. They looked quite fetching. I could buy Sarah those. The image in his mind of Sarah wearing the undergarment caused a sudden spurt of desire to warm him. He began to search for the salesclerk.

“I would like to purchase a set of those,” he explained when he found the woman. It was rather embarrassing, he quickly discovered, for a man to discuss women’s undergarments with a stranger.

“They’re not for me,” he added hastily.

The woman blinked at that, and then she recovered.

“Do you know what size you're looking for?”

“Yes, size twenty four,” Pall answered confidently.

The lady blinked again, and then she shrugged. She went searching for the underwear while Pall waited impatiently. There were two other women in the shop, and it wasn’t long before he noticed them frowning at him. Evidently they were not particularly happy at his presence. The sales lady came back with a box and set it on the concrete counter.

“Here you are, sir,” she said, “Your underwear. Is this a present for your grandmother?”

“No,” Pall replied, becoming more uncomfortable as the minutes dragged on. “They're for my wife.”

The woman was taken aback. “Oh. Yes. Sorry.”

The sales lady quickly grabbed her rom and entered the information for the sale. She handed the rom to Pall, and he pressed his thumb against the screen. She handed the box to Pall who turned and headed for the doorway.

“Poor thing,” the woman said sadly, watching him leave.

Pall went back to the shoe store, hoping Sarah had finished trying on shoes.


Sarah had finally made up her mind. It had taken a while, because trying on shoes in this shop was almost as fine an experience as making love to her husband. She chose the red ones, because they were the perfect accompaniment to Prudence Lemand’s gift. The shop clerk was wrapping the shoes when Pall entered the store.

“Finished?” he asked hopefully.

“Finished,” Sarah informed him with a smile, and Elle smiled also. “We’ll be out of here as soon as you pay the bill.”

“All right.” He reached for his rom. Elle’s smile widened. “What is cost on the shoes?” Elle’s smile dimmed a bit.

“What do you mean, ‘What is cost'?” Sarah asked. “We’re paying full price, aren’t we?”

“We agreed to take two hundred pair at cost. We have only one hundred ninety nine to go.”

“The two hundred are the shoes we’re using to get a contract on Marl. These are mine,” Sarah said, glaring at him.

“We’ll need someone to wear and to demonstrate the shoes,” Pall replied firmly. “We know those fit you, so we can use those for our demonstrations. And that way we only need one hundred ninety nine more.”

“That’s fine, Sarah,” Elle said with a forced smile. “Pall’s right, and besides I don’t mind giving you a discount.”

Sarah rolled her eyes. “Don’t worry, Elle. He’ll change his mind.”

“Yeah, right,” Pall said with a snort. “I’ve been trading for a long time, Sarah. Let’s go.”

Elle accompanied them to the first hatch and waved good bye. Sarah waited until they were out of earshot, and then she began to remonstrate to Pall over his decision not to pay full price for her shoes. Pall ignored her complaints. They had a different shuttle pilot for their return trip to their ship, but he proved just as competent and professional as the first pilot.

Sarah was excited about her new shoes, and she wanted to show them off to Pall, but when they arrived at the ship, there was a gnote from her parents waiting to be answered. Pall gave her the space to privately read the message, and he sent his own gnote to Jak informing the vendor of their plans to invest in the higher heel shoes. He invited Jak to bid on the project, not bothering to tell Jak that the merchant was going to get the contract by default.

While waiting for Sarah to reappear, Pall unwrapped the package containing the underwear he had purchased. He let out an annoyed exclamation when he unfolded the huge pair of panties. At first he thought the clerk had given him the wrong size, but when he examined the label, he saw it was the size he had requested. He checked his rom and quickly realized that the sizes of women’s shoes did not match the sizes of women’s underwear. He held up the huge pair of panties again, and he imagined Sarah’s reaction to them. Hastily he stuffed the wad of expensive material into the recycler.

When Sarah returned, her eyes were red, but she was smiling. He did not say anything, but he wrapped his arms around her.

“How are your olds?” he ventured a little later.

“They’re good,” she replied, enjoying the feel of his hands rubbing her back. “They’re worried about me, but Captain Mackenzie sent them a long gnote reassuring them I’m all right. They didn’t say so, but I could tell they’re shocked that I’m married. They claim they can’t wait to meet you.”

“I wish I could take you back now."

“I know. We’ll get there. Don’t worry about me.”


Later, Pall increased the spin in the sleeping area, so he and Sarah could use the tub. Although they had used it several times by then, this was the first time they had used it since becoming united. It's different, he thought as they relaxed together in the warm water. Now we don't have to worry about keeping some distance between our bodies. Not that we ever worried about it much. He chuckled. In retrospect, he realized that it was amazing they had not broken his shipmates’ rule months ago. We'll have to remember this when we set down rules for our own kids. After exiting the tub, he left Sarah in the viver and set about finishing a few chores before the approaching sleep cycle.


Sarah had something special planned. While Pall was in the control room, she entered the cargo hold and slipped into the dark area behind the ramp. There she found the dress that had been in the package Prudence Lemand had given her when she and Pall left Silica. Sarah had left it hanging in a place Pall seldom ventured, because she wanted to keep the dress a secret until the right time. Now that she had her higher heels, the time was ripe.

She put on the dress and went back to the viver. Carefully, she did her makeup. As she was finishing, she heard Pall beyond the door. By the rustling of the grabbit on the edge of the covers, Sarah could tell that he was readying their bed. She waited until she was sure he was under the covers before she left the viver.

Pall was lying on the bed with his hands behind his head. He was not surprised that his wife was still in the viver. It often happened that way. But he was not prepared for the sight of Sarah when she stepped out of the viver. His mouth suddenly went dry.

The dress was similar to the very short dress Prudence had worn on the first day Sarah had met the older woman. It was red, and it was very revealing. The straps were tight, and Sarah’s unconfined breasts strained against the material. She’s wearing those higher heels. They made her slim brown legs look magnificent, and the curve of her bottom caused his hands to itch. He could not wait to stroke it.

“Well, Captain,” Sarah said as she arched her back, causing her nipples to lift against the material of the dress. “What do you think?”

“Great dress and great shoes. Come to bed, Crew," Pall commanded as he wet his dry lips.

“Aye, aye, Captain,” Sarah whispered in a sultry voice as she bent over him, “If you insist.”

The front of the dress drooped, and Pall could suddenly see down past her navel. She was wearing nothing under the dress.

She brought her breasts closer to his face. “Do you think these shoes are worth full price, Captain?” she murmured against the side of his head. She extended her tongue and lightly slipped it in and out of his sensitive ear.

Pall gulped as a shivering thrill invaded his entire body. He was still staring down the front of her dress. He could see all the way down to those wonderful shoes.

“I’ll transfer the funds right after sleep cycle,” he promised as he reached for her.

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