Preview

Chloe Bennet came up from the hold of the overcrowded ship, grateful for the fresh air, but also anxious as to why Elizabeth Henstridge had wanted to see her. Not that the air on the upper decks was any fresher--it all went through the same recycler--but with only the sparse crew moving about their duties, it seemed a lot sweeter.

She came to what the shipboard AI indicated was the captain’s quarters and the door opened for her automatically. She went inside to find the familiar sight of Elizabeth and a man she didn’t recognize. He was broad-shouldered, about thirty or so, with short black hair and a good build. Chloe liked the way he looked and the way he carried himself, but she didn’t know what to make of him.

“Chloe, sweetie, this is Chad,” Elizabeth said, her crisp British accent warm and soothing, as if Chloe were a little lamb she was trying to gently prod along. “Chad here owns his own ship.”

“Oh,” Chloe said, her own dull American accent feeling wan in their presence. “That’s nice.”

“Sit,” Elizabeth continued. Her quarters were simple and streamlined, like the rest of the ship. Chad was leaning against her desk, one of the few pieces of furniture beside the bed, which Elizabeth was casually sitting on. It gave the whole room a coyly intimate atmosphere, as if Chloe had stumbled into something…

There was a spartan wooden chair in front of the desk and Chad. Chloe sat down in it. Chad smiled down at her from his perch on the desk.

“Another ship could be of great help to my enterprise,” Elizabeth continued. “That is, if he isn’t one of those cops--one of those people who don’t want poor refugees like Chloe here to come to Earth, where they can be good little cocksuckers, well-fed and cared for, with nice soft beds…”

“I want that!” Chloe piped up. She was sweating now. She saw it all coming down on her. Having to go back to one of the failed colonies, or worse yet, just getting blown out into space… She felt a pit in the hole of her stomach, tears in her eyes, but she told herself not to shiver, not to cry… to be brave.

Still, she could hardly bare to look up and face Chad.

“I want that,” she said again.

“Who wouldn’t?” Elizabeth replied. She’d gotten up to pet Chloe’s hair soothingly. “Being a, well, a comfort of sorts to a man like Chad here, who’d take care of you, buy you pretty things… and on Earth, without all the mandates, all the population controls. You could start a family.”

“I’m… I’m good with kids,” Chloe managed, flustered. She was looking up at Elizabeth, her wide eyes full of fraught hope.

“You hear that?” Elizabeth asked Chad. “She’s good with kids. Chloe, why don’t you show Chad how much of a comfort you’d be?”

Chloe turned toward him. Her eyes settled on his crotch and she could see that he was excited, just thinking about the possibilities...

Chad raised his hands. “She doesn’t have to--”

“I think she does,” Elizabeth said firmly. “After all, I’m sure if you were EarthForce, you couldn’t stand to be touched by a filthy little alien like Chloe--not even born on Earth. But for all the rest of us… just look at her. I was thinking of taking her in myself… if no one else wanted her.”

“I’d like that,” Chloe said. “I like girls too… if there are no boys around.”

The bulge in Chad’s pants grew longer and thicker. Chloe could see its outline as it strained against the fabric. 

“Bet you’re nervous,” Elizabeth said, rubbing Chloe’s head, inclining it slightly toward Chad’s lap. “Chloe, you just do what comes naturally. And Chad, if she doesn’t do what comes naturally--no deal.”