Stratos - [B]

During the two-week journey through hyper-space, Commissioner Anderson divided his time between reading copies of the information the 5-EX had delivered and chatting with the Captain of the ship. Like many government officials, Commissioner Anderson was very enthusiastic about the 'Pony Express to the Stars' that Admiral Thorndike had created. Data that normally would have taken years, decades, was arriving in a matter of months. Sometimes weeks.

Doctor Boyce, like many Doctors, kept his nose buried in a computer screen, reading various medical journals he had brought onboard. His suitcase probably contained more computer plaques than clothes.

Brett Gladden, the Security Guard from the CBC who had protested surrendering his side-arm, was sullen and withdrawn, spending most of his time at one of the entertainment stations on the mess deck. Either playing games or watching movies.

The other Guard, Ramesh O'Connell, was quite friendly and outgoing, eager to 'pull his own weight' onboard the ship. He soon became the un-official assistant to the Ship's Cook.

Once the 5-EX exited hyper-space and was nearing the planet of Ardana circling the star named Ardana (go figure), Lieutenant Moonwatcher had established contact and then turned his seat over to Commissioner Anderson. By the time the ship 'touched down' at the somewhat crude space port (it was used primarily for shuttles to orbiting cargo ships) the Special Envoy had all the details worked out.

"Captain, I request that you and one other Officer accompany me," he said, "As will Doctor Boyce and our guards. A vertical transporter is being dispatched for us now."

Smith made a quick pointing motion and said to his First Officer, "Hammer. Give 'em their weapons. Lieutenant Moonwatcher, I want you and Chief Wallace to put up motion detector's outside. If anything larger than a lizard comes within a thousand yards," Smith turned to address Hammer. "I want you to lift-off and put the ship in orbit. After all," he made eye-contact with the CBC Guard Gladden who was happily strapping on his weapon belt. "We have a large fortune onboard."

"Mister Midshipman Bauer," Smith called to Ensign Bauer. "Would you care to accompany me to the city of Stratos?"

"Yes, SIR!" the twenty-two year old Officer answered.

When everyone stepped outside to await their ride, they all looked up into the reddish-orange sky. There, floating high in the clouds, was the capital city of Ardana. "I hope that color doesn't make Larry homesick," Smith joked, referring to the fact that Lieutenant Moonwatcher was born and raised on Mars.

Only two people greeted Special Envoy's party when the vertical transport touched down on the landing pad of the City of the Clouds. But they were Ishlass, the High Adviser of the Council, and his daughter Darcina.

Ishlass was a fiftyish man of moderate height, but the regal way that he carried himself made him appear taller. His thick, unruly hair was combed back over his head. A neatly trimmed beard framed his longish face. The man had a bulbous nose and piercing brown eyes. The long, flowing robe that reached all the way to his ankles was made of some shimmering, metallic fabric.

Standing next to him was a towering blonde, she was at least six inches taller than her father. Her long hair was piled in an elaborate pattern of twirls and twists atop her head, with a loose spiralling chignon hanging down to her shoulder blades. She had an elongated body, thin, with a swanlike neck. Her already large eyes seemed even larger with the heavy makeup she wore on them.

The floor-length skirt that was slung low on her hips was made of the same shimmering material like her father's, but much thinner. When the light was behind her, her slender legs could clearly be seen. Her midsection was bare, from way below her navel up to her breasts. Large, full breasts that contrasted dramatically with the leanness of the rest of her body. An elaborate halter top criss-crossed her breasts with a long flowing train trailing down her bare back.

As High Advisor Ishlass led the Special Envoy Anderson's party towards the reception hall and refreshments, Darcina asked, "Father, why don't you go ahead and discuss business with these gentlemen and I will give Ensign . . . Ensign . . ."

"Bauer," the Midshipman supplied.

"Yes, of course. Ensign Bauer," she gave him a small, terse smile, "A tour of the palace."

"Good idea," Ishlass answered. "You young people would be bored to tears listening to numbers and delivery schedules."

"I hope you will forgive me for pulling you away from your companions," Darcina told Bauer, slipping her bare arm around his bicep as her hand on the far side of her body reached across to grip his forearm. "But I've had to attend these things since I was eleven years old! You are my parachute." Considering that they were in a city floating high in the sky, a parachute was an apropos analogy. She batted her thick lashes at him, "You don't mind being used as a parachute, do you?"

"Noooo," Bauer shook his head while smiling at her. She was around his age, in her early twenties, and being this close to him, he could whiff the seductive fragrance of her perfume. "I don't mind being used at all."

"Oh, good," she replied, patting his forearm. "I just knew you would feel that way."

Sometime later, after numerous balconies with breath-taking views of the ground far below, a library, a music room, a long hall covered with portrait paintings, they wound up in a pseudo basement. The large, dimly lit room had dark walls resembling rough bricks and a concrete floor. Heavy chairs of medieval design were scattered about, as were strange pieces of wooden furniture whose function Bauer could only imagine.

"This place is supposed to be secret," she giggled. "For grown-ups only. I remember when I was around seven and my father found me playing down here. He was furious! It's one of the few times I can remember him actually being angry with me."

"What is this thing?" Bauer asked. It looked like a sawhorse that carpenters use, only of much heavier wood and with iron rings at the bottoms of the legs. A strip of padding with red leather covering ran the length of the wide beam.

"Oh! That is a 'horse'," she answered, running her finger tips along the beam. "Wanna see how it works?"

Before he could answer, Darcina moved behind him and placed her hands on his waist, directing him to stand at one end of the horse. "Now, lean forward," she told him. "All the way forward with your arms dangling over the sides."

Bauer felt a little silly, but with such a seductive woman so scantily clad, it was hard to say no. As he lay there, he saw her fumbling around on a nearby workbench. When she walked back to him, she was carrying four sets of cuffs in two different sizes. Squatting down at the head of the horse, she secured one end of a set of hand-cuffs to his wrist, and the other end to the iron ring at the bottom of the leg. She did the same with his other hand.

"Okay, I understand," he called back to her as she circled around to the other end of the device. "You can un-cuff me now."

"Oh, come on," she answered. "I thought you space-faring types were adventurous."

He felt the ankle-cuffs securing his legs the way his arms were. Returning to the front of the horse, Darcina stood off to the side and leaned forward, bringing their eyes on the same level. "You said you did not mind being used."

Before he could answer, Darcina grabbed a handful of his hair and kissed him full on the mouth. Hard. Her tongue probed his mouth, seeking out his own. Bauer returned the kiss, straining his neck to move his head closer to hers. Feeling himself obtaining an erection, he shifted his hips, rearranging his lower position to try to make room for the developing hard-on.