Part 7 (1/2)

-Fenton Morris ”You and I will go over to Starwolf, Vermillion,” Janja said. ”We'll be escorting Vettering, who will have his hands behind him, supposedly bound. You'll have a stopper in your waistband in back, Vett. Your hands will cover its grip.”

”I'd better have the belt that b.a.s.t.a.r.d took away from me,” Vettering said, rather sullenly.

His suggestion had been that they try to get one more crewmember from Starwolf over onto Lewuvul. Preferably Javad, Vett said; Javad was the real punk tough Manjanungo had taken onboard. Janja had considered that, but had shaken her head.

”Consider. I get on the comm and try that. But suppose Skive comes up with the b.a.l.l.s to demand confirmation from Manjanungo, and decides to take the consequences if the 'Admiral' is angry. We can't produce. That way we'll have lost ground, see. When we go over as we'd have to do then, they'll be waiting, and they'll be suspicious. So. We don't try that. We get our own b.a.l.l.s together and go over, ready to fight. They'll be waiting, of course, or one of them will, but with no need to be suspicious. So. We go, and we be very, very careful. I've considered asking Seera-see, we could 97.98.”escort” her over, to be incarcerated with Althis and/or Lhari, if those two aren't together on Starwolf. Seera would have two stoppers, concealed in her clothing. But -I don't like that. We really have no justification for putting her into danger, and I won't do it. She's the one who Poofed Manjanungo, after all. So ...”

Janja bit her lip as she motioned Vettering to follow her to the con. Vermillion followed the pirate, whom they had untied but not armed.

”Skive,” Janja told Starwolf's mate, ”things are getting a little, uh, fobby over here. Now I'm ordered to bring Vetterman over and pop him in with Lhara somebody. Help!”

”c.r.a.p. That's Vettering and Lhari, by the way. What's the Admiral doing?”

”Visiting with his cousin. Behind closed cabin door, too. She owns, I mean, owned this yacht. Semi-sane gal of apparent-age thirty or so who's really sixty but also s.e.xy enough to ignite a bucket of water. I think he, uh, wants her. We don't dare tell him how fobby she is. You ever dare tell him anything?”

”I understand,” Skive said, not quite committing himself. ”So-Red Rover, Najendra.”

”Coming over, Skive.”

Once they'd got a belt around Vettering and the stopper tucked into his pants behind, they draped a couple of loops over his wrists back there.

”Just don't forget and move your hands at the wrong time,” Janja said, and he gave her a look, and the three of them went over to the other s.h.i.+p. Manjanungo's yacht-turned-pirate-flags.h.i.+p.

Skive was at the airlock when Vettering appeared, hands apparently linked uncomfortably behind him. Janja and Vermillion of Jarpi followed, Vermillion with 99.drawn stopper. Janja thought it clever to keep her own holstered at her thigh.

”Welcome home,” Skive said with exaggerated dryness.

”Push it right up your nostril,” Vettering said conversationally.

”Ha,” Skive p.r.o.nounced exaggeratedly, ”ha.” His eyes s.h.i.+fted to gaze past the captive pirate at Janja. ”Should I be worried about my captain, Najendra?”

Janja sighed. ”Skive . . . what would we dare do or say if we were?''

”Not a flainin' thing! Come along this way. Oh- keep that stopper on this creep, uh . . . ”

”Vermillion,” Vermillion's translation helmet said. ”Be nice, Captain Vettering.”

”Captain,” Skive sneered, as he preceded them along an incredibly mural-decorated s.h.i.+p's tunnel.

They followed him to a door, which he opened merely by turning the handle. Janja heard the double click and knew that it had been firmly locked on the other side. Stepping back, Skive made a sweeping gesture to Vettering. Janja swallowed; the overdone action reminded her of Trafalgar Cuw. Vettering stepped into the doorway and looked into the cabin.

”Vett!”

Janja fancied that she recognized the voice of his woman, Althis, but said, ”Is that Lhari?”

”Neg-his piggy woman,” First Mate Skive said. ”They're together in there, the whole fobbin' menagerie. Althis, Lhari, and the Admiral's three gurlz.”

Janja grinned and made a gesture. ”Lord, lord,” she said, quoting someone she knew, or had known. ”How do you control yourself, Mate?”

”Mate, it ain't easy!”

100.Janja returned his grin, then looked around. They were alone in the s.h.i.+p's tunnel. ”Let's go inside,” she said. ”I must see this.”

She stepped into an ancient hareem-chamber, pus.h.i.+ng Vettering before her. A fine woven carpet covered the floor and was in turn strewn with cus.h.i.+ons in a rainbow of hues. Janja wondered idly if they were ba

tened down against freefall. A divan in the style of old Turkey; another, with purple fringes dripping to the carpet; ancient-looking wrought tables, definitely battened. All that was missing was a water pipe. Yes, even the keyhole windows were present. Holograms, she presumed, since one hardly added windows to a s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p-and these showed a lovely blue-skyed vista.

And here were Manjanungo's odalisques.

The three girls were incredible, and incredibly shaped, fetchingly almost attired in nothing much and yet distinctly non-Persian, non-Turkish in their taut-drawn corsets. Althis was here, and she was still blowzy Althis in transparent, very full purple blouse and belly-dancer's sirwal or full trousers, in rose pink. Lhari Had-dad, formerly Suffragen Captain, TGW, was entirely naked save for two bracelets and a pair of openwork shoes on stilt heels. She resembled a starlet trying to look s.e.xy and succeeding in looking whorish. Althis was as fullblown as Janja remembered her and the girls were not. Not a one of them was as old as nineteen and all were blessed with willowy, leggy figures that were believable only because Janja had to believe: she was looking at them. One wore a filmy yellow bandeau and a strip-”skirt”-a hip-slung strap in cloth-of-gold with a strip of cloth dangling to the floor before and behind, patterned in lavender and green and blue. Her hair was a rippling fall of deep Prussian blue to her waist. Another was similarly dressed, save that the colors were 101.

different and her hair fell to mid-back in waves of pure honey. The third was heavily bejeweled though bare of breast, and wore the usual corset plus a real skirt to the ankles. Somehow its modesty emphasized the nudity of her upper body with its taut cones of warheads. Her hair was fairer than Janja's was in its real color, meaning the girl's was dyed quite white and yet glossily soft and beautiful.

The overall effect was of languid indulgence and opulent sensuality. All awaiting the return of their lord and master, who would never return.

Janja turned to Skive and in a moment he no longer gazed upon the women of the Admiral's harem. Skive was looking into the bores of three leveled stoppers. He snarled one word: ”d.a.m.n.”

”Vett!” Althis said again, this time in an enthusiastic I-just-knew-it tone.

”What's happening?” one of the nymphets murmured lazily, and Janja was both jolted and revulsed by the vacuousness of lovely face and sweet voice. The trio was drugged, surely.

Not sweet-voiced was Lhari Haddad, nor languid either: ”Poof the b.a.s.t.a.r.d!”

Astonis.h.i.+ngly, Vettering did.

Since his stopper was set on Two rather than Three, Starwolfs first mate lurched into a mindless nerveless shuffle. He had Danced thus for ten or eleven seconds before Janja reached for Vettering's arm. Just then Skive's eyes rolled up. He ceased shuffling, went limp, and pa.s.sed out. He hit the ornately carpeted floor hard.

”Tie him up, Althis,” Vettering said.

”What's happening?” another of Manjanungo's girls said.

”That wasn't in our agreement, Vett. Totally un- 102.

necessary. We had him. You-”

He turned. ”Don't crowd me, Janja. This swine has treated me like dirt and before that it was Zo and Ulf. I'm up to here with being done to and not being able to do. Crowd me now and your Jarp is going to have to use its stopper on me. Skive isn't harmed, but he's no longer a problem. I doubt these idiot s.e.xpots are either, but with his stopper in Althis's hand this whole cabin is secured. That leaves Paridon, and Intaglio the Weirdo, and the real hardcase, Javad. We can argue or discuss what we should or shouldn't do, or we can get started getting them.”

”Oh,” Janja said, exaggeratedly batting her eyes, ”Veh-yutt! You're so force-ful!”

”He's also right,” Althis said, cheerfully peeling a strap-t.i.tser off the blue-tressed girl to bind Skive's arms together behind him-tightly. ”Amber-give me the skimpy briefs I know you're wearing under all that skirt, so we can gag this swine. Hurry girl, hoist it and whip 'em off! Janja, Janja. Don't I know that name?”

”Right,” Janja said. ”Vermillion, make sure your stopper's on Two, and turn right out of here. Take the first left turn and head for the con. Vett-let's go. We go left and turn right, to head for the con. Vermy, please be alert. Remember: we stopper anything we see, and yell!”

”Firm.”

”You know this s.h.i.+p?” Vettering asked.

”Althis, you take Skive's stopper. Just-”