Shelly happily bounced down the passageway.
Her shift in engineering was over with. It was time to party. For once, it wasn't just going to be Rich pawing at her for an hour (or vice-versa). The booty from the big raid had been counted and cataloged, and they were just two days from planetfall at maybe a place they could live out their lives. After eight days of half rations, it was time for a feast.
Two days… Shelly slowed down a bit. The idea that she'd have to make decisions again soon, important life changing ones, frightened the girl. She didn't want to think. She didn't want to decide. Hell, she didn't want to do anything. She just wanted to be happy. Happy in the here and now, not some mythical future that may or may not happen if she'd just suffer a bit now. Was that so wrong?
Yes, to hear Lessa and just about everybody else talk. They called her a slut. Well... Lessa didn't call her that. Much. Lessa understood Shelly, or at least thought she did. Shelly could still see, though, at times, the disappointment in her best friend's eyes. To Lessa, temptations were something to be resisted. When your instincts tend to lean towards brutal violence, Shelly agreed, that's a very understandable viewpoint. But, Shelly just wanted love. To at least feel loved, if not be loved, and so far only the bed of a man had provided that.
She hadn't found friendship, or companionship, there, though; Rich was OK, she guessed, and he certainly provided the pleasurable release she craved. But if Shelly wasn't interested in his large cock it's doubtful they'd have anything to do with each other. Hell, the only person who at all interested her was…
Lessa.
For the hundredth time, Shelly wished she had some sexual interest in girls. She had tried, the gods knew, even secretly playing with herself in bed while watching Lessa get undressed, hoping some switch in her brain would click and her wonderful Lessa would suddenly satisfy both sides of her. But, alas, no. Nothing. Only Lessa could provide the friendship, comfort, and security she needed, and only some random guy could give her the sexual release she needed.
Maybe she should try a dog.
Laughing at that thought, Shelly approached the door to the main cafeteria/rec room. Stopping, she composed herself. She had to project an aura of happiness and sexual confidence, while at the same time letting everyone know she wasn't some slut who'd be up for a gang bang later. It was a fine line, and one of the reasons she stayed with Rich. Nobody was going to force themselves on her, knowing they'd then have to face Rich.
The door opened, revealing the party was already in full swing. Loud music was playing, something with a fast beat and sultry lyrics. About 25 kids were already here, divided into small groups either dancing or talking. All were drinking, a keg set up and opened on a table near her. Timothy was playing bartender, and giving him a saucy wink she took the mug he offered, sauntering over to an empty table against the wall. Most people were against the walls, which amused Shelly to no end. When nobody is willing to have their back to the door, seating options dry up quickly. Now, there's an idea, she can open a restaurant that only has against the wall seating!
Shelly took a sip. It was smooth, and fruity. Like nothing she had ever tasted before, but it was a big universe and she was from a small town. A longer sip confirmed she'd be helping drain this keg long into the night.
The dark girl looked around. She saw Sean against the opposite wall, talking to some guy whose name she wasn't quite clear on (Mac? Jack?). Sean was the only one in their little band with darker skin than her, a random quirk to be sure. Surely skin color had been varied enough everywhere she had been. A quick thought came to her about the various survival advantages skin color might have. The dark skinned could travel better at night, so maybe the light skinned could hide better during the day? Assuming they all traveled naked, which led her thoughts off into other directions, and laughing she took another drink. Shelly looked at Sean again. He was her boss in Engineering, but she hadn't talked to him much. It was obvious he didn't want to be here, or at least wasn't enthralled with current management. It was likely he'd be the first of their merry band to leave. No loss, to her way of thinking.
Movement caught Shelly's eyes, as The Trio started dancing. She shook her head, laughing. The three youngest members of their band, Amanda, Sirenia, and Wendi, had become inseparable. The two 11 year old girls had been traveling alone without siblings, or friends, quickly latching onto the slightly older Amanda and her powerful brother. They rarely could be found apart, although not being suited for bridge duty the younger duo instead drew kitchen detail. They roomed in the cabin right next to Amanda and Kine, and Shelly had heard tales of Kine waking up to find all three snuggling up to him after bad dreams. That kind of thing could put a crimp in your social life. Assuming he wasn't into that.
"May I have your attention, please!"
Various catcalls and cries of "no!" greeted Ken as he stood up on a table. Good naturally swearing back at them, he took a long drink from the pitcher in his hand. Where did he get a pitcher, Shelly wondered? She'd have to find one…
"For tonight's entertainment, assuming this horrible music wasn't enough…" More catcalls. "… we have some video direct from the plundered ship! Haven't even bothered to see what they are myself, so let's put them on the screen!"
The lights darkened a bit, Ken jumped down, and the screen behind him came to life as Shelly took another swig.
****
"I don't want to do this," Don sighed. Kine, walking at his side on the way from the bridge, gave him a look that was totally unsympathetic.
"Aww… does the fearless leader not want to have fun in front of his followers?"
The black look Don threw up at Kine made him realize he had gone a bit too far, so he back peddled a bit.
"Look, you show up, say something, then you can go back to your cabin and do whatever it is you do. Everyone apart from Sean respects you, so the least you can do is pretend you respect them."
Don sighed, putting a hand up to his temple. The bandage was gone, but there was still a nice bump.
"Don't worry," Kine added, "if you accidentally show emotion you can blame it on that."
The door they were passing on their right opened, a surprised Lessa suddenly standing there. She was dressed in what Kine had to admit was a nice looking green blouse, with nothing under it, and blue jeans. Her face seemed to gain a little color as she looked at Don, but he decided not to read anything into it. It wasn't like either one was human.
"Oh! Um, hi you guys." Lessa paused a second, gathering her thoughts. Her eyes seemed to ignore Kine. "So, Don, how's your head today?"
He cocked his head up at the taller girl, a faint smile on his lips.
"Now that's a rather personal question. How's yours?"
Lessa stiffened, eyes narrowing as her face got even redder. Laughing, Kine got between the two of them and put an arm around their shoulders. Immediately, their anger turned on him for the intimacy of his touch. Which, naturally, was the idea. Kine might not be a leader by choice, but a people person he was, and he couldn't afford to have these two at odds. Hell, maybe he could get them to hook up and breed.
"Come on, you two! Let's not fight! It's party time! And I know how much both of you just LOVE to dance and sing!" Lessa sighed as they started to walk down the hall again. She leaned around Kine to look at Don.
"Know a good place to hide the body?"
"We're still short on meat, so there's that option."
"See?" Kine said, smiling. "You two are already making cheerful small talk. Soon there will be actual conversations and exchanges of information!" They came to the cafeteria door.
****
The chaos inside had them immediately alert. Taking a quick two steps inside, they spread out, eyes taking in the scene.
Shelly was on top of one of the dining tables, screaming. "We should kill them! KILL THEM! Let me go, you mother fucking cunt!" Sean was up on the table behind her, holding her in an arm lock that didn't seem like it would hold long. She was struggling frantically, hair and breasts whipping this way and that. The rest of the kids were arranged around her table, some shouting agreement and encouragement while most stood in stony silence.
Shelly noticed the three newcomers. Using a move Lessa honestly didn't know she had in her, the teen managed to throw Sean off, jumping down and rushing Don. The table fell over, Sean crashing to the floor with a thud and a curse. Perhaps it was because it was her friend, but Lessa hesitated. Next thing she knew, Shelly was grabbing Don by the front of his shirt. Her face was reddened in pure anger and fury, shaking him with each syllable.
"We have to rescue them! We have to find her! Do you hear me, you…" Shelly suddenly found herself pulled off of Don, a large hand clamped over her mouth, arms pinned tightly to her side. Kine half carried her backwards a few feet, squeezing tightly until the girl made a muffled sound that was more pain than hysterical rant. Don put a hand to his chest, shook his head to clear it, then glanced at Lessa. Lessa just gave a puzzled shake of her head, not having an answer to the unstated question. The now silent crowd circling the group, they both stepped up in front of Kine. Shelly had stopped struggling. Her eyes were red and puffy, tears replacing anger. Kine removed the hand from her mouth, but kept both arms pinned to her back. Someone handed Lessa a cloth, which she used it to wipe her friend's face.
"What happened?"
Shelly looked up at her, eyes still crazed. She whispered.
"Look…"
Lessa looked at her questioningly. Amanda stepped forward, eyes dead, pointing to the large video screen.
"There."
Don and Lessa looked. The image, maybe six feet across, was a close up of a young naked teen. She was bruised and battered, obviously being fucked by a large man. The paused picture showed her face clearly, the pain and hopelessness in her eyes making both wince. Don looked over at Ken, raising an eyebrow. The lanky teen just raised his hands in apology.
"It's a rape video. I'm sorry, I didn't go over the videos we got from the raid. It just said 'Teen Fun'." Don looked back at it, then over at the sobbing Shelly.
"But what's her problem?"
Shelly's head whipped up to look at him, her eyes more sane, but still filled with rage.
"I know her!" She broke down again, sagging in Kine's arms. Slowly, he lowered the dark haired girl to the ground. Lessa knelt down, putting her arms around her friend, letting her cry into her chest. "I know her…."
****
Don cast his eyes around the room, seeing if anyone coherent knew anything. Red headed Sirenia stepped up next to Amanda. Her voice was soft.
"Shelly said the girl was from a village near hers, and they used to play together. Rebels raided and she vanished." The pale girl started to tear up herself, Amanda and Wendi quickly flanking and hugging the preteen. She looked Don in the eye. "They're capturing kids and... and filming them doing… things until they die." Sirenia broke down, and Don once again looked over at Ken. The half bald, half red braided Mel was now standing with her head buried in Ken's chest, and he spoke to Don with his eyes fully focused on her.
"It's a professional company. Logo, address, everything. I looked and there's a couple more in there along with the real movies and porn."
Don closed his eyes and sighed. They didn't need this. Neither did those poor girls, but… He turned and looked down at Shelly again.
"So… what?"
She looked up, startled, as if no human could say what he just did.
"So, what?!? We go find them! We rescue those kids and kill the bastard adults who are doing this!"
Don's head hurt, and he moved a hand up to rub his bump. How could he make them understand.
"You realize we're just barely surviving ourselves. We just managed to get out of our own hell by the skin of our teeth, and now you want us to go charging in and rescue others. Thirty five kids in an underpowered space ship are going to rescue a billion others in need. Really." Shelly struggled to her feet, not believing what she was hearing. Half leaning on Lessa, she jabbed a finger at Don.
"What's the point of being free if not to do what we want! I want to rescue her!" At the look in Don's eyes, she closed hers and nodded in acceptance. "Yes, I know. It's been a year and she's probably dead. But... we can save the others, we can shut them down."
"And how many of us die doing this? And we can't kill ALL the evil adults doing this all over the system…"
"We are not your followers!" Shelly screamed. "If we want to do this and you don't, you can just leave the ship!"
Don actually chuckled to himself. This is what happens when you tell others they have rights. He looked around, his eyes catching Sean's. The darker boy nodded. The mood was definitely in favor of this mad idea, at least in the here and now. But to risk everything for something so… his eyes once again focused on the poor girl on screen. For a brief second, he saw not a stranger, not a victim... but his Cynthia.
Sighing, Don turned to Shelly.
"We'll give it a shot." Shelly broke free of Lessa and threw her arms around him, the crowd cheering. Pushing the red eyed girl away, Don spoke softly. "Once we land on Xanth, we'll see what our options are. We're not going to suicide for this quest, OK?" She nodded, and he gently pushed her away. Making a show of straightening his shirt, he looked around the room.
"I need a drink."
****
Lessa half carried the drunk Shelly into their cabin. The happy roommate was singing some song about milkshakes, jiggling her breasts at the appropriate time. Or at least close enough, given neither the tune nor the words were that close to the original. Lessa staggered over to Shelly's bed, dropping the girl onto it. She stood up straight, cracking her back. Those curves are heavy, she thought. Or maybe it was all the drink in her, although most of that must have flowed out when they were in the bathroom a few minutes ago.
Walking over to her bed, Lessa turned on the light and started to undress. She hadn't had too much of the mystery fruit drink, but it was enough to make her just want to crawl under the covers for a week or two. Surely they'd let her do that. She pulled her top off, and was taking her pants off when she heard Shelly sit up.
"Lessa?" It was a quiet voice. Lessa looked over. Shelly sat with her arms wrapped around herself. "Lessa… I don't want to be alone tonight." Lessa got a puzzled look on her face.
"I'm always here, you know that."
"No… I don't want to sleep alone." Lessa's face got bright red. She had wondered if this would ever come up. She loved her friend, as she had loved no one else since losing her family, but she had no thoughts in that direction. She had few enough going towards men, although Don had started to piss her off by showing up in her dreams.
"Shelly, we've gone over this. Do… do you want me to take you to Rich?"
Shelly looked at her and shook her head, her expression one of such sadness Lessa couldn't help but be moved.
"No, Rich can't help. Can't I… can't I just hold you tonight? Just that?"
There was no way Lessa could refuse that look, not after all they had been through together. She removed her pants and panties, and pulled back the sheet.
"Ok, but remember I can have you flying out of the bed and into the wall at the slightest provocation, right?"
"Yup!" Shelly bounded upward, shedding her clothing like a pro, and in a minute she was sliding into the narrow bed with Lessa. Lessa turned the light off, and they faced each other in the dark.
The closeness disturbed Lessa. Their bodies were pressing against each other, breast to breast, thigh to thigh. She had never been with someone like this, not even as a little girl. That she liked it and wanted to draw her friend closer only made her want to push her away even more. She felt a hand on her cheek, and Shelly moved closer and whispered.
"Oh, Lessa… You… you know I love you."
"I know."
Two words that said so much, of what could and couldn't be. Shelly moved down Lessa's body a bit, snuggling into her. Lessa held her close, getting used to the soft warmth that was her friend.
"Good night, slut."
"Good night, psycho."