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Archive name: sungod.txt (MF, sci-fi, mystical)
Authors name: Zack (zack_writer@hotmail.com)
Story title : Bride of the Sun God 

--------------------------------------------------------
This work is copyrighted to Zack © 2002.  Please don't 
remove the author information or make any changes to 
this story.  All rights reserved. Thank you for your
consideration.
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Bride of the Sun God (MF, sci-fi, mystical)
by Zack (zack_writer@hotmail.com)

***

The Amalgamation Survey Ship Interloper moved in a 
synchronous orbit above the third planet of star 
U1256637. Far below on the planet's surface Lieutenant 
Thar Breg, the ship's Xenologist, sauntered through the 
streets of Lanudu, the capitol of Bridium, the island 
nation that improbably dominated the planet. It was late 
spring in this northern hemisphere, and for once the 
sunshine wasn't blocked by clouds. He entered the 
cobblestoned square that surrounded the Temple of the Sun 
God, a massive granite structure that dwarfed all of the 
other buildings in the city. 

He walked across the square and joined a line of men that 
were waiting to enter a side door of the temple. He asked 
the man in front of him, "Say, mate, is this the way to 
the Sun Priestesses?" 

Thar was disguised as a Galuvian seaman. Galuvia and 
Bridium were commercial rivals, but there hadn't been 
open warfare for more than forty years, so the man nodded 
yes without any overt display of hostility. The line was 
moving steadily forward, and in a few minutes Thar was 
able to make his substantial 'donation' and enter the 
temple. The room he entered was vast, with a vaulted 
ceiling at least twenty meters high. Many oil lamps 
mounted on a double row of massive chandeliers dimly lit 
the room. This may have been a temple, but it wasn't 
quiet. Thar had no trouble guessing the source of the 
chorus of moans, grunts, and cries. 

Rows of three-sided cubicles filled the floor. Some of 
the cubicles had the unwalled fourth side closed off by a 
curtain, but there were plenty of open cubicles to choose 
from; Thar picked one at random and stepped up to the 
opening. Most of the cubicle's floor space was occupied 
by a bed, and a very pretty blonde woman was sitting on 
it, her long hair cascading down her back. She was naked, 
and the bronze collar locked around her neck was 
connected by a bronze chain to a ring set into the stone 
floor. 

When she noticed Thar she smiled and said, "Hi, sailor. 
Come on in." She wiggled her shoulders and made her 
spherical breasts jiggle. 

Thar entered the cubicle and closed the curtain. The 
sides of the cubicle were higher than his head; this 
provided some privacy. "You're a Sun Priestess?" he 
asked. 

"No, I'm the Emperor's daughter. I just do this because 
it's the only way I can meet men." 

Thar flushed. "I'm not as stupid as I sometimes sound. 
It's just that this is the first time that I've been here 
and I'm finding the temple hard to believe. Could we 
talk? I'd like to know more about all this." 

The woman jingled her chain and said, "I'm not going 
anywhere, and talking is easier than fucking. Ask your 
questions. My name is Kepa." 

"My name is Thar. How did you become a Sun Priestess?" 

"Every year each district in the Empire has to provide a 
woman for the contest that selects the Bride of the Sun 
God. The winner, if you can call her that, is sacrificed 
to the Sun God at the solstice. The five runners-up 
become the high priests' concubines. The losers become 
sex slaves here in the temple, although they call us 
priestesses. The donations we bring in are a major source 
of income for the temple." 

"Are you a slave for life?" 


"Oh, no. After three years we're released and given 
enough money to live on for a while. Usually a former 
priestess has her pick of men who want to marry her. We 
know a lot about sex." 

"Are you chained to this same bed all the time for three 
years?" 

"No, it's three weeks working and then one week off. We 
can do what we want in the off week, except leave the 
temple." 

"How is the Bride selected? Is there some sort of test, 
or what?" 

"Beauty is all that matters. The high priests select the 
six most beautiful contestants, and then the Bride is 
chosen by lot from that group. Almost everyone in the 
contest would like to be one of the six finalists, except 
for the risk of being the Bride. The runners-up only have 
to serve a year, and they don't have to fuck every yarp 
who can pay the donation." 

"Why doesn't a district just send some orphan, no matter 
what she looks like? I wouldn't expect a man would want 
to risk his daughter." 

"The district that provides the Bride is given a five 
year exemption from the contest and the runners-up get a 
three year exemption. During that time they don't have to 
tithe or provide contestants, so every district wants to 
win. Some districts will even hire an exceptionally 
beautiful woman to be their entry, but in most districts 
the contestant is chosen from among the residents; that's 
how I got here. It's supposed to be an honor to serve the 
Sun God, and it's not like the contestant is going to be 
gone forever; except for the Bride, of course." 

"That's all the questions I have for now. Let's have sex. 
What's allowed?" 

"You can use any opening and do anything you want as long 
as you don't hurt me. If you want to whip a girl or do 
something like that there's another room with priestesses 
who are being punished, or who like being hurt. A large 
donation is needed to get into that room." 

"Can I tie you up?" 

"Oh, sure. There's some rope in the drawer under the bed. 
You can't gag me, though. Did you know that if I have an 
orgasm you get a coupon that gives you a discount on your 
next donation?" 

'I'll keep that in mind." Thar got some soft rope out of 
the drawer. "Cross your wrists behind your back." 

Kepa smiled, turned around, and crossed her wrists. Thar 
tied them together with diagonal wrappings, and finished 
with a cinch. He was careful to tie the knots so they 
were out of reach of questing fingers. Kepa struggled for 
a few minutes and then said, "This tie is conventional, 
but well executed. I can't get loose, but it's not so 
tight that I'll be damaged; you know what you're doing." 

"Thanks for the critique. Once you're tied up, what keeps 
you from being hurt by somebody who likes to do that, but 
doesn't want to pay the extra donation?" 

"There are guards with crossbows on overhead catwalks. 
You can't see them very easily because everything is 
painted black, but they watch us and anybody who tries to 
hurt us gets a quarrel in the back if we say the secret 
word. That's why gags aren't permitted." 

"Oh." Thar paused a moment and then put Kepa on her back 
on the bed. He took another piece of rope, doubled it, 
and looped it around Kepa's right ankle. He bent her knee 
and tied the ankle to her thigh; then he repeated the 
process with her left leg. He noticed that her body hair 
hadn't been shaved and both her bush and her pits were 
shaggy. That was fine with him; he liked furry women. 

Kepa squirmed on the bed. "This tie makes me very 
helpless and totally exposed. It's a favorite of men who 
like their women to be tightly controlled." 

"I'm tired of the running commentary; maybe I can get 
special permission to gag you. Until then, I want you to 
shut up unless I ask you a question. Do you understand?" 

"Yes, Sir." 

"Much better." Thar stripped off his clothes and climbed 
on the bed. He kissed Kepa deeply and fondled her 
breasts. When he stroked and probed her slit she gasped 
and stifled a moan. 

Thar said, "You can moan and scream all you want. It 
turns me on if you're aroused." 

He moved his right thumb in a circular motion on her 
nipple and used his other hand to tweak her clit until 
she screamed and spasmed; and while she was still at the 
peak of her orgasm he entered her and rode her to another 
high. He marvelled how she could use her bound body in 
subtle ways that increased his arousal; soon they 
climaxed together in massive orgasms. 

Thar held Kepa as they cooled down; then he used his 
hands and tongue to give her another crashing orgasm that 
caused her to swoon with ecstasy. He gently disengaged 
and left the bed. There was a small table in the corner 
of the cubicle that contained a basin and towels; he 
cleaned off his sweat covered body. 

After Thar dressed he returned to Kepa and kissed her. 
When they broke it off he said, "You certainly do know a 
lot about sex, and if I'm in town when you're released 
I'll be sure to propose." 

She smiled at his compliment. Once more he enjoyed the 
sight of her bound body and the way the lamplight 
reflected off her sweaty skin. "I'll untie you now." 

When she was free of the ropes Kepa rubbed her wrists and 
the marks on her thighs. "I had a good time with you, and 
that doesn't happen often enough. With all too many of 
these oafs it's just thrust, squirt, and skip." 

She raised a yellow semaphore attached to a back corner 
of the cube. She explained, "Pushing this up tells an 
attendant to stop by and help me clean up." She opened a 
box mounted below the semaphore and handed Thar a small 
piece of paper. "Here's your discount coupon. You deserve 
it." 

"Thanks. One more question. Why is the Sun God Bridium's 
national deity? You hardly see the sun. Even in the 
summer it's overcast for at least one day out of three, 
and in the winter sometimes the sun doesn't appear for 
weeks at a time." 

"I guess that people just treasure scarce items more than 
common items. And if we didn't worship the Sun God, May 
He Shine Forever, it might be cloudy here all of the 
time." 

Thar thanked her and left the cubicle. As he was leaving 
the temple he thought, 'I definitely prefer submissive 
women. So why is Pami my lover?' 

Pami Erig was a fellow Star Fleet officer and a field 
surveyor renowned for her bravery and aggressiveness. He 
remembered that on one of Pami's surveys she had been 
branded with a red-hot iron, but she didn't scream until 
after she decided that it would compromise her disguise 
if she didn't. Anybody who got in her way when she was 
working was likely to become suddenly dead. Thar had 
proved his bravery on many dangerous field surveys, but 
he admitted to himself that he didn't have the nerve to 
break up with Pami. 

* * * 

In the city of Manufru, 120 kilometers from Lanudu, 
another Amalgamation field surveyor was sitting in her 
room in an inexpensive boarding house. Sonji Regan was 
disguised as an Espian, a disguise that for her required 
no makeup because she had naturally tan skin and black 
hair. Women from Espia were reputed to be especially 
skilled in all of the possible sexual permutations, and 
perhaps because of this reputation they were also prized 
as governesses, especially if the children to be 
supervised were young ladies who needed discipline. 

Sonji was looking through the 'Situations Offered' 
columns of the local newspaper. An employment agency 
advertisement caught her attention; it stated that they 
had numerous openings for governesses. Her assignment was 
to survey the domestic life of the upper classes of 
Bridium, and this would be an excellent cover. The agency 
was located close by; she decided to walk there and 
inquire in person. She picked up her cloak and bonnet and 
left her room. The weather was clear for a change, and 
Sonji welcomed the chance to be out in the sunshine. 

It took less than half an hour for Sonji to walk to the 
address given in the advertisement. The agency was 
located above a small restaurant that specialized in 
sweet cakes and cha, the Bridium national beverage. 
Access to the agency was by way of a street level door 
that opened onto a narrow and dirty hallway that led to a 
steep staircase. 

As soon as Sonji was in the hall and out of sight she 
contacted the Interloper and explained her intentions. 
Her communicator was disguised as a jade pendant 
suspended on a fine silver chain worn around her neck. To 
activate it she pulled the pendant against the chain; it 
buzzed to show that contact was established, and it would 
remain active as long as she held it in her hand. The 
ship could use the communicator signal to determine her 
location to within a few meters. 

Sonji entered the agency office and approached a middle-
aged woman seated at a desk, who said, "I am Miss Withur, 
the proprietor of this agency. Can I help you?" 

"My name is Sonji. I saw your advertisement and I would 
like to apply for a position as a governess." 

"Have you done this kind of work before? Do you have 
references?" 

Sonji dug into her reticule and pulled out some letters. 
She offered them to the woman. "Here are my references; 
I'm afraid they're written in Espian." 

"Do you have any Bridium references? Do you have friends 
or relatives living here who can vouch for you?" 

"No, I have only recently arrived in this country and I 
don't know anyone living here." 

Miss Withur stared at Sonji for several minutes. Then she 
said, "There may be an opening for you. I'll have to 
check with my client to see if an Espian woman would be 
acceptable. He is located close by so you can sit over 
there and wait." 

She opened a door and called out; a large woman entered 
the room. "This is Glida, my assistant. I'll return 
shortly." 

Miss Withur was gone almost an hour. Sonji tried to 
engage Glida in conversation, but her attempts were met 
by grunts, and she soon desisted. She was relieved when 
Miss Withur returned. 

Miss Withur said, "My client wants to see you. He is a 
busy man and we will be interrupting a meeting with his 
associates, so don't speak unless he asks you a 
question." 

Miss Withur opened the office door and gestured to Sonji 
to precede her. A ten minute walk brought them to an 
impressive granite building, and they waited inside for 
another ten minutes until they were shown into an opulent 
boardroom where six men were seated along one side of 
large table. Sonji stood in an open space in front of the 
table where she was illuminated by the light from double 
windows. She stood there in silence as the men stared at 
her. Finally, one of the men said, "Yes, Miss Withur, she 
is all you say she is. She is very acceptable." 

Miss Withur pulled Sonji out of the room and hustled her 
out of the building. Sonji protested, "That was the 
strangest interview I've ever been to. It seemed that all 
he cared about was my appearance." 

"The interview was just a formality. My client trusts me 
to evaluate prospective staff members." 

Back in the agency office Miss Withur said to Glida, 
"Sonji has been accepted by our client. Go get some of 
the special cha so we can celebrate." 

She took some papers out of her desk and gave them to 
Sonji. "Fill out these forms. There is a pen and a bottle 
of ink on that table." 

The forms required her to write an essay, and Sonji was 
glad to pause when Glida returned with the cha. Sonji was 
thirsty, and she gulped down a cup of the sweet liquid. 
She picked up the pen and lost consciousness. 

When Sonji rejoined the world she found herself on a 
narrow couch, stretched out on her back. She propped her 
head up enough to find out that she was wearing a white 
gown that reached almost to her ankles. It had a square-
cut bodice supported by two narrow shoulder straps and 
the tops of her breasts were exposed. The waist was 
constricted by a bronze chain that was fastened to the 
wide bronze bracelets locked on her wrists. An iron chain 
connected her ankle to a ring set in the wall. Sonji was 
fairly certain that this was not the usual costume worn 
by Bridium governesses. 

Miss Withur was seated at a table, closely examining the 
clothes that Sonji had been wearing. She commented, 
"These are fine clothes; I've never seen stitches so 
small and even. Espian seamstresses are far better than 
any in this country." 

There were two other women in the room. One was dressed 
in a gown similar to Sonji's except that it was bright 
yellow; she had a blowsy look and was slumped in a chair. 
Glida was the other woman and she was wearing a fantastic 
costume; bronze cuirass, helmet, and greaves, and a 
pleated leather kilt. She had a short sword and a pouch 
belted at her waist. 

Sonji was relieved to see that her communicator was still 
in place. The waist chain was loose enough to allow her 
to reach it; she pulled the pendant and was rewarded by 
the buzz that meant communication had been established. 
She shouted, "Miss Withur! Why am I chained like this?" 

"You have just been entered in the Bride of the Sun God 
contest. Some districts prefer to hire a beautiful woman 
as their contestant. As you might imagine, the fee for 
such a service is rather high; after all, the best you 
can expect is a year as a concubine. Since you won't 
share in the fee the rest of us will do rather well." 

"Why is Glida wearing that bronze armor?" 

"That is the traditional costume of the Guard of the 
Bride. Firpa is wearing the yellow dress of the Attendant 
of the Bride. You, of course, are wearing the white gown 
of a contestant. Sometimes the chains are just symbolic, 
but we can't take any chances with you." 

"But why did you kidnap me?" 

"Don't be so modest. You're a beautiful woman; besides, 
there's a rumor that some of the high priests that judge 
the contest are partial to Espians." She rummaged through 
the pile of clothing. "I can't find the pendant. Oh, 
you're still wearing it. Hand it over!" 

"No, please don't take it. This was my mother's pendant." 

"All right, you can keep it, but you can't wear it with 
that costume. Give it to me and I'll hold it for you 
until you get to the temple." 

Sonji didn't want to give up the pendant, but she knew 
that Miss Withur and Glida could take by force, so she 
handed it over; when it left her hand the communication 
stopped. Miss Withur packed it in a cloth bag with 
Sonji's clothes. 

She commanded, "Glida, the carriage will be here soon. 
Get her downstairs and watch her. Firpa, you come with me 
and collect the luggage." She left the room and Firpa 
staggered after her. 

Glida took a key from her pouch and unlocked the iron 
cuff that held Sonji chained to the wall, but she 
replaced it with bronze cuffs connected by a short bronze 
chain. She helped Sonji stand up. Sonji was still dizzy 
from the drug and the chain between her ankles was so 
short that she couldn't walk; Glida had to carry her from 
the room and down the stairs. 

They reached the street door just as a two-horse carriage 
pulled up. Miss Withur was waiting outside, and she 
supervised as the driver stowed the luggage in the boot 
and then helped her into the carriage. Firpa climbed in 
awkwardly, and Glida lifted in Sonji. 

The driver examined Sonji and expressed his approval. "So 
she's our contestant this year, eh? She's a beauty; I 
hope she wins, because the tithe is crushing us poor 
folk." Then he remembered what that would mean to Sonji. 
He dropped his gaze and hurriedly climbed onto the seat. 
Glida got in and closed the door; the driver cracked his 
whip, and they moved off. 

Sonji had expected to ride in the carriage all the way to 
Lanudu, so she was surprised when, after traveling only a 
few kilometers, it stopped next to a moored canal boat. 
This boat was over twenty meters long and only three 
meters wide; it had a small cabin near the stern, an open 
space heaped with crates, and a larger cabin in the bow. 
The helmsman was standing in a open area right at the 
stern next to the tiller; another man was harnessing a 
team of horses to a line tied near the bow. When the 
helmsman saw them he shouted, "We're ready to leave! Get 
aboard at once." 

The driver helped Miss Withur out and loaded the luggage 
on the boat while the other three women were getting out 
of the carriage. Miss Withur took her carpetbag and the 
cloth bag containing Sonji's clothes into the small first 
class cabin near the stern. Glida carried Sonji into the 
larger second class cabin near the bow, and Firpa 
followed with two carpetbags. When they were all aboard 
the mooring lines were cast off and the man with the 
horses mounted the one nearest the boat and cracked his 
whip. The horses moved out at a trot and the boat glided 
through the water. 

The three women were the only passengers in the second 
class cabin. The sun had set soon after they were aboard 
and now the only light in the cabin was provided by a 
small oil lamp. Glida removed her armor with a groan of 
relief and put on a linen shift. All of the women sat 
quietly; there was no conversation. 

About thirty minutes later Miss Withur entered the cabin 
and addressed Glida, "I have business near the outskirts 
of Lanudu and will be getting off the boat before you do, 
so you'll have to go alone when you take our Bride-to-be 
to the temple. After the contest return to Manufru and 
I'll give you and Firpa your share of the money, once I 
collect it from the committee." 

After Miss Withur left the cabin Firpa got a black bottle 
out of her bag and started drinking. It wasn't long 
before she was passed out and sprawled on a bunk, snoring 
noisily. Glida got some bread and cheese from her bag and 
she and Sonji shared it and a bottle of wine. Glida drank 
most of the wine, and when the bottle was empty she 
seated herself next to Sonji and put an arm around her 
shoulders. 

Sonji didn't like this, and her fears were confirmed when 
Glida kissed her on the lips. She struggled against the 
chains on her wrists and felt a wave of arousal. She 
kissed back and then murmured, "I can do more for you if 
you take these chains off." 

Glida replied, "I like you the way you are, so they stay 
on." 

"At least take the chain off my ankles, I can't spread my 
legs at all. You're not afraid of me, are you?" 

Glida chuckled, "Of course not." 

She got the keys from her pouch and removed the cuffs 
from Sonji's ankles. Sonji stood up and hiked her gown up 
to her thighs. She smiled at Glida, took a step, and 
delivered a flying kick that broke Glida's neck. 

Sonji retrieved the keys and freed her wrists from the 
cuffs and removed the chain from around her waist. Then 
she had to sit quietly while a wave of reaction 
overwhelmed her. Sonji wasn't used to killing people, and 
the empathy that enabled her to easily blend into other 
cultures kept her from being a detached outsider, 
casually disposing of the inhabitants of a backwater 
planet as if they were inanimate props in a theatrical 
performance. 

Then she brought herself back to reality. These people 
had kidnapped her for money and were delivering her to 
possible death as a human sacrifice. This was self 
defense, and Glida had it coming. Sonji never considered 
killing Firpa; Firpa couldn't harm her. Sonji wished she 
had her communicator, but getting it would require her to 
kill Miss Withur and the boatmen, and a mass killing 
would create a possible violation of the First Directive. 
This was her rationalization, but Sonji knew she couldn't 
kill two innocent men just to avoid an inconvenience. 

Sonji started to organize her escape. She needed clothes 
that weren't as conspicuous as this gown. She rummaged 
through the baggage and found Firpa's dress and cloak. 
She ripped off the bottom of the white gown to convert it 
to a slip; Firpa's clothes were ill-fitting and smelly 
and she couldn't stand the thought of putting them next 
to her skin. She took off her white sandals and put on 
Firpa's black shoes; luckily, the fit wasn't too bad. 

Now for the cleanup. She put the cuirass and greaves on 
Glida's body and wrapped the remains of the white dress 
around the chains and stuffed it, Glida's kilt, and the 
sandals into the helmet. 

Sonji blew out the lamp and waited in the dark until the 
boat glided to a stop and the horses were changed. She 
waited some more until the routine of the journey had 
resumed; then she dragged Glida's body to the cabin door 
on the canal side of the boat. It was a struggle, but 
Sonji was able to hoist the body onto the narrow deck and 
roll it into the water. The splash seemed terribly loud 
to her, but the boatmen didn't seem to notice. The weight 
of the armor pulled the body below the surface, and Sonji 
dropped the helmet and the sword into the water. 

She crawled out on the deck, slid the cabin door closed, 
and crept to the open cargo area in the center of the 
boat. She waited for a interminable time until the horses 
were changed again. When the helmsman looked down for a 
moment she dashed across the towpath and hid in some 
bushes until the boat moved on. 

* * * 

The canal boat traveled through the night and by morning 
it had reached Lanudu. Miss Withur left it near the edge 
of the city and took a cab to a shop that sold ready-made 
clothing. She had done business with them before. 

The proprietor greeted her as she entered. "Miss Withur! 
Good to see you again." 

"I have some clothing to sell. It is top quality." 

The proprietor examined Sonji's clothes and marvelled at 
the quality of the materials and workmanship. "Yes, it is 
good quality. This stitching is unlike anything I have 
seen and the cloth is so smooth and uniform." She offered 
a good price. 

Miss Withur counter-offered and they bargained amiably 
until an agreement was reached. The proprietor noticed 
the communicator and asked, "What do you want for the 
pendant?" 

Miss Withur named a price without hesitation and they 
bickered to an agreement. The proprietor was happy with 
her purchase. It was her favorite niece's birthday, and 
the jade pendant would be a nice present. The girl had 
just gotten a job as a servant in the temple, and she 
needed better jewelry than the trashy stuff she had now. 

* * * 

When the canal boat reached it's terminus Firpa was still 
asleep; the boatman finally had to douse her with a 
bucket of water to wake her up. She didn't know where she 
was or remember why she was barefoot and wearing a yellow 
gown. When she was thrown off the canal boat she wandered 
a short distance down an alley until she found a 
sheltered corner behind a trash bin where she could 
sleep. 

* * * 

When the AI monitoring the communicator traffic on the 
Interloper received Sonji's transmission and heard 'Why 
am I chained like this?', it immediately alerted the 
communications watch officer. He listened to the complete 
transmission and called Captain Goda, the commanding 
officer, and she summoned the available field surveyors 
to an emergency meeting. 

After the assembled officers had heard Sonji's last 
communication Captain Goda said, "We haven't received any 
more communications from Lieutenant Regan. Mr. Breg, you 
have more planet-side experience than anyone else here. 
What do you recommend?" 

"I recommend that we rescue Sonji as soon as possible. 
Once she's in the temple it will be hard to get her out, 
both before and after the contest, and if she is chosen 
as the Bride she'll be sacrificed. Where did the 
communication originate? 

"The center of Manufru." 

"There's a good chance that she's still there. The roads 
in Bridium are in poor condition and nobody likes to 
travel at night." 

"Very well. Ms. Erig, you and Ms. Mahoon will land in 
Manufru and effect the rescue of Lieutenant Regan if she 
is still there. You are authorized to use whatever force 
is required and to carry any equipment you wish. You will 
be inserted as soon as possible. Mr. Breg, you return to 
Lanudu and obtain more information about the temple and 
where the contestants are housed. Dismissed." 

Pami Erig turned to Swamka Mahoon and said, "Action at 
last, Swa! And a free hand with no First Directive shit 
to worry about! I think we should be disguised as 
Espians, like we were Sonji's cousins or something; we 
may have to interrogate some of the locals. That reminds 
me, I've got to sharpen my knife." 

Erig and Mahoon worked as quickly as possible to prepare 
for their mission, but there was a lot to do and it was 
several hours before the shuttle left the Interloper. 
They were going to use parasails; a new, experimental 
method of insertion. The normal practice on a civilized 
planet was to land the shuttle in some remote area, but 
this often forced the surveyors to trek a long way on 
foot. With the parasails they could land closer to their 
destination. 

They launched from the shuttle at an altitude of 4000 
meters; it would take them over half an hour to glide to 
the ground. Erig and Mahoon were wearing night-vision 
equipment and they located a park not far from their 
destination. They used the IR mode to confirm that the 
only warm bodies present belonged to small animals, and 
they glided to a smooth landing. They disassembled the 
parasails and bundled them together with their coveralls 
and the other gliding equipment. They attached everything 
to a balloon and inflated it with hydrogen from a small 
cylinder. The balloon lifted into the night; the shuttle 
would recover it after it reached high altitude. 

All of this took a while, so by the time they had changed 
into their disguises and hiked to the site of Sonji's 
last transmission the first signs of dawn were lighting 
the horizon. Erig had no trouble with the door locks and 
soon they were inside the agency offices. A quick search 
was all that was needed to determine that the office was 
empty. In a back room they found an iron chain attached 
to the wall. 

Mahoon said, "Not many normal employment agencies need to 
chain up their prospects. Let's look around in here some 
more. There are files in the inner office." 

"Right. Get started while I call the ship." 

Mahoon searched the files. She said, "I've found a 
contract from the district contest committee to supply a 
Bride contestant. There is also an employment application 
filled out by Sonji; she was applying for a job as a 
governess. The writing ends suddenly, and there's a smear 
of ink." 

"Captain Goda says to ask around and try to trace Sonji's 
movements. That cha shop downstairs will be open soon. We 
can start there." 

Erig and Mahoon were waiting at the door of the cha shop 
when a old woman arrived to open it for the day. Mahoon 
said, "Excuse me, but we're looking for our cousin. She 
was here yesterday afternoon, and we think she was a 
Bride contestant. Have you seen her?" 

"Yes, that must have been the Espian girl I saw just as I 
was closing up yesterday. She was with that Miss Withur. 
Glida was the Guard and some woman I don't know was the 
Attendant. Did your cousin know what she was letting 
herself in for? 

"Why do you say that?" 

"Well, she was chained very securely. Usually the chains 
are just a symbolic part of the costume, but they were 
tight on her. She couldn't walk; Glida had to lift her 
into Rul's carriage." 

"Where can we find this Rul?" 

"He's probably waiting for the Ax and Shield to open. 
That's a tavern three blocks over and two blocks down. 
It's a slimy place, I wouldn't go in it if I were you." 

"Thank you, you've been very helpful." Erig and Mahoon 
walked three blocks over and two blocks down. There was a 
carriage parked outside the tavern; the swaybacked horses 
were hitched to a rail in front of the door. 

A half dozen scuzzy men were lounging around the tavern 
door, and when it opened they entered with a flurry of 
pushing and elbowing. Erig and Mahoon were about to 
follow when they heard snores emanating from the 
carriage. Erig opened the door and a man who had been 
leaning up against it fell out and landed on the muddy 
street. 

She asked, "Are you Rul?" The man gave a nod, and she 
continued, "You picked up Miss Withur and a Bride 
yesterday. Where did you take them?" 

"To the canal port. They took the evening packet boat to 
Lanudu; they should be there by now." 

While Erig was questioning Rul, Mahoon was watching what 
was happening around them. A young woman carrying a 
package stopped outside the tavern, hesitated, and then 
went inside. The woman looked like she was in her late 
teens, and she wasn't dressed like a bar girl. Mahoon had 
dropped her carpetbag and was moving towards the door 
before she heard the scream. 

Inside the tavern two men held the girl pinned against 
the bar while two others tied her hands behind her back. 
When she was secured they turned her around and one 
ripped off her bodice and exposed her small, pointed 
breasts. The crowd erupted in hands that mauled her until 
a burly man pushed them back and said, "Don't push, boys. 
There's enough for everyone. Line up behind me." 

"Yeah, do that. Then whip it out and bugger the asshole 
ahead of you. You at the front, you could screw yourself, 
except that you're not long enough." 

Mahoon made her suggestions from just inside the door. 
She had pulled up the front of her skirt and tucked it in 
her waistband. The significance of this was lost on the 
men, who forgot the helpless girl and surged towards 
Mahoon. Three kicks later the survivors backed off to 
regroup. 

The burly man shouted, "All together now! Get the bitch!" 
He led a charge that produced the same result. Mahoon 
sensed movement to the side and turned to see the barman 
swinging a cudgel. She braced to block the blow, but 
before it could land Erig kicked his knee and he fell 
down, screaming. 

The sobbing girl was crouched against the bar; Mahoon 
helped her up and led her outside. Inside, the barman 
with the ruined leg was still screaming. There was a 
meaty thud and the sound stopped in mid-scream. 

Rul was looking dazed; Mahoon shook him and ordered, "Get 
ready to move." He unhitched the horses and climbed onto 
the seat. 

Mahoon took out the knife strapped to her thigh, freed 
the girl's hands, and helped her into the carriage. Erig 
emerged from the tavern and got into the carriage and 
yelled an order to get moving. Rul cracked his whip and 
they plodded off. 

The girl was covering her breasts with the ripped bodice. 
She said through her tears, "Oh, thank you. I would have 
died if you hadn't saved me." She looked at her tattered 
clothing. "My dress is ruined." 

Erig dropped a handful of gold and silver coins into her 
lap. "Here, take this. I took up a collection in the 
tavern." 

After they took the girl to her rooming house Erig 
contacted the ship and reported what they had learned. 
Erig and Mahoon felt like children let out of school; 
there was nothing more to do in Manufru, and the shuttle 
couldn't pick them up until after dark. Erig told Rul to 
drive them out into the countryside; the pickup point 
would have to be in a rural area, and there was no need 
to walk if they could ride. 

Erig commented, "I didn't know that you liked to rescue 
damsels in distress, Swa." 

"Well, usually I can't. If I'm doing a field survey I 
have to blend in and keep my head down. But this isn't a 
survey, and I wasn't going to let those animals rape that 
girl. I see too much of that when I can't do anything 
about it. And thanks for taking out that barman." 

"My pleasure. You might call me a sentimental fool, but I 
don't like rape either. I've taken a lot of abuse doing 
surveys but I knew that it was part of the job, and 
although I don't like it I only get physical damage. That 
girl would have been devastated." 

They sat in silence as the carriage left Manufru and 
lurched thorough the countryside. As the kilometers 
scrolled past the agriculture changed from gardens and 
orchards to pastures and scrubland. They were traveling 
down a dusty road that ran through a village when Erig 
yawned and said, "This should be far enough from the 
city. I see an inn over there; let's get a room and sleep 
until it's time for the pickup. Both of us were up all 
night." 

"Fine with me." Mahoon yelled at Rul to stop, and they 
dismounted from the carriage in front of the inn. She 
gave Rul a handsome payment and said, "Forget you ever 
saw us. Your friends in the tavern will want to forget, 
too." He nodded, cracked his whip, and the carriage moved 
on. 

Erig and Mahoon pushed through the door and entered the 
main room of the inn, which had a bar and a scattering of 
tables, a few of them occupied by farmers or peasants. A 
plump, middle-aged woman was behind the bar. She said, 
"Welcome, travelers. You're a long way from Espia. How 
can I help you?" 

Erig replied, "We'd like a room for the night. Is one 
available now?" 

"Yes, I do have one." They moved to the bar and the woman 
handed Erig a key. Erig paid in advance, and the 
innkeeper put the money into a box under the bar. 

Mahoon asked, "Where's the privy?" The woman pointed to a 
side door. 

Erig picked up both of the carpetbags and headed towards 
the stairs, and Mahoon went outside and walked the short 
distance to the privy. She dumped and was heading back to 
the inn, thinking that a handful of leaves was not a good 
substitute for a sonic cleaner, and musing that it was 
the small things that made life so much harder on 
backward planets. 

She was being so introspective that she didn't pay 
attention to her surroundings until a cry of pain 
attracted her attention. Next to the inn was a side road 
perpendicular to the main road they had used earlier, and 
it was now filled by five men on horseback. They wore 
swords and steel helmets and had cocked crossbows slung 
on their saddles. 

Two of the men had ropes tied to their saddles; the other 
end of each rope was tied to the wrists of a young woman. 
The women were panting and sweating, and one had fallen 
and was being dragged. The leader spotted Mahoon and 
signaled for the troop to halt. He exclaimed, "Look! An 
Espian; she must be a spy. Arrest her." 

One of the men dismounted and took some rope from his 
pouch. Three others aimed their crossbows at Mahoon. She 
had gone into her fighting stance, but she decided that 
the crossbows made the odds too long. She cursed under 
her breath; she had body armor in her carpetbag, where it 
was absolutely useless. As penance for her stupidity she 
stood still while the man wrapped thin rope around her 
wrists and cinched it. He dragged her over to the road 
and took a coil of rope from his saddle and tied an end 
around the binding on her wrists. He mounted and the 
leader ordered them into motion. The pause had given the 
fallen woman a chance to get up, and the three women 
staggered along behind the mounted men. 

As the horses turned onto the main road in front of the 
inn Mahoon whistled so loudly that the horse she was 
attached to shied. She was almost jerked off her feet, 
and she nearly fell again when the rider yanked on the 
rope. She watched the door of the inn and was cheered 
when the innkeeper opened it and looked out. Then she had 
to watch the road as the pace was increased and she was 
forced to jog. 

Erig was naked when she heard Mahoon's whistle. She 
looked out of the window of her second floor room and 
watched Mahoon being dragged down the road. She muttered, 
"What has that girl gotten herself into this time?" and 
started to dress. 

Erig was met in the main room of the inn by the sad-faced 
innkeeper. "I have some bad news. Your companion has been 
taken by Sir Jalnu." 

"Who's Sir Jalnu?" 

"He's the baron who bought the castle and the surrounding 
lands last winter. Since then he and those thugs of his 
have been seizing young women and taking them to the 
castle. None of the women have been seen since." 

"How can he get away with that? Isn't there any law in 
this land?" 

"Here he is the law. He's the Justicar for this district, 
and he has been careful to make everything look legal. 
All of the women were charged with some petty offense, 
and Sir Jalnu tried them himself and sentenced them to a 
year's imprisonment in the castle. Everyone hopes he will 
release them when their time is up, but we all fear the 
worst." 

"Why don't you do something? Hasn't anyone appealed to 
the Emperor?" 

"One man did. One of his daughters was taken, and he went 
all the way to Lanudu and appealed to the Imperial 
Chancellor. They said they would 'investigate'. When he 
returned to his farm he found that his other daughter was 
gone and his wife was hanging in the barn. She supposedly 
left a note that said that she couldn't bear the shame of 
having two criminal daughters, but she couldn't read or 
write. The man went to the castle, and he was found at 
the base of the wall the next day. The official verdict 
was that he had fallen accidentally. Since then everyone 
has been too afraid to act." 

"Where is this castle?" 

"Just down the road. You can see it when you get beyond 
the trees. But don't go there! You'll be taken too. Get 
out before they come for you." 

"Yes, I think I will be going." Erig returned to her room 
and put on her armor. She strapped on a couple of 
phasors, and made sure they were set to 'kill'. Other 
equipment went into a pouch at her waist and she put on a 
cloak and bonnet to hide all of the hardware. She picked 
up the two carpetbags and left the inn. 

Mahoon was breathing fast when she had jogged the 
kilometer or so to the castle, but the other two women 
were ready to collapse. The horses clattered across a 
drawbridge and through a gate and stopped in the bailey 
of the small, rundown castle. The leader dismounted and 
ordered, "Bring them to the courtroom." 

The other men dismounted and untied the ropes from their 
saddles. They dragged the women into the castle and down 
a short corridor to a large room that was empty of all 
furniture except for a high bench with an ornate chair 
behind it. They all waited for some time until the leader 
entered and seated himself in the chair and opened a 
ledger. He said, "I am Sir Jalnu, the Justicar for this 
district, and you have all committed crimes. This is your 
trial." He pointed to a woman and her guard shoved her in 
front of the bench. 

"What is your name, girl?" The woman whispered her name 
and Sir Jalnu wrote it in the ledger. "You are charged 
with, ah, trespassing. You are found guilty and sentenced 
to one year of imprisonment." He wrote this information 
in the ledger and signaled the guard for the next woman, 
who was sentenced to a year's imprisonment for poaching. 

Then it was Mahoon's turn. "What is your name, girl?" 

"Malunusometon Hulapoinarkeluiosjax." 

"How do you spell that?" 

"Just the way it sounds." 

"I'll teach you the price of insolence! Fifty lashes! 
String her up." Sir Jalnu reached under the bench and 
found his horsewhip. 

The guard started to force Mahoon over to a hook 
extending from the wall. She kneed him in the groin and 
when he bent over kneed him on the chin. He went down, 
but the other three guards were on her, and one managed 
to grab the rope attached to her wrists and pull her to 
the floor. One guard sat on her legs while another tied 
her ankles together. She was carried to the wall, the 
rope attached to her wrists was flipped over the hook, 
and she was hoisted up until she was on tiptoe. The guard 
she had kneed recovered enough to punch her in the 
stomach. Sir Jalnu turned her to face the wall and 
grasped the collar of her dress. 

Meanwhile, Erig had reached the castle. Before anyone 
spotted her she ducked into the woods and used a cable 
through the carpetbags' handles to secure them to a tree. 
They were locked and secure against any tools on this 
planet. 

She crossed the drawbridge and spoke to the guard at the 
gate. "Please, sir. My sister was just brought here, but 
there must have been some mistake. Can I speak to Sir 
Jalnu?" 

The guard chuckled evilly. "Of course you can. Sir Jalnu 
will be very pleased to see you." He seized Erig's elbow 
and led her into the courtroom. 

Sir Jalnu paused before he ripped off Mahoon's dress. He 
fingered the fabric and said, "This dress is too good to 
tear up. Untie her hands, but be careful." One of the 
guards untied the rope that went over the hook and 
lowered Mahoon's arms, and the other three aimed their 
crossbows at her. 

The gate guard shoved Erig into the courtroom. "Here's 
someone to see you, Sir Jalnu." 

Erig proclaimed, "Sir Jalnu, I'm an Imperial Inspector. 
You are under arrest for treason and murder." 

Sir Jalnu sneered, "This woman is an impostor. Shoot 
her!" 

As the guards swung their crossbows towards Erig she drew 
her phasor and fired three times. The guards died, but 
one managed to fire his crossbow and the quarrel hit Erig 
in the stomach. The armor kept it from penetrating, but 
it forced her to step back. Sir Jalnu and the guard 
reached for the crossbows on the floor. Mahoon hit the 
guard's neck with her bound hands and the blow stunned 
him. The gate guard grabbed Erig from behind just as Sir 
Jalnu came up with a crossbow. She shot again, but the 
guard spoiled her aim and her shot hit Sir Jalnu in the 
mouth instead of between the eyes. He died anyway. 

Erig stomped the foot of the guard that held her and he 
loosened his grip. She brought around her phasor and 
killed him. She used her knife to free Mahoon and then 
gave her a phasor. She said, "This is exciting. And all 
because you had to use the privy." 

The two other captive women had dropped to the floor when 
the action started; Erig beckoned them to her and freed 
their hands. She said, "Get out of here. Go back to your 
homes." The women ran out of the room. 

The guard Mahoon hit was recovering; she put him in an 
armlock and he screamed. Erig asked him, "Where are all 
the women that have been arrested?" 

Mahoon tightened the armlock and the guard gasped out, 
"Most of them are upstairs. In the workroom." 

"Lead on." The guard led them up some stairs and down a 
corridor to an iron-bound wooden door. A guard holding a 
crossbow was dozing on a bench; he awoke with a start and 
raised the crossbow. Erig killed him. She took a key from 
his belt and unlocked the door. A burly overseer holding 
a whip swung it towards her; she killed him too. 

The room was noisy with the whirring of spinning wheels. 
There were about thirty partially naked women in the 
room; all were spinning flax. Each had her right ankle 
chained to a ring in the floor; most of the women had 
welts, some old, some fresh. Mahoon whistled, and they 
all looked up. The noise diminished as the wheels slowed 
to a stop. Erig announced, "I am an Imperial Inspector. 
Sir Jalnu's crimes have been discovered and you are 
free." Some of the women cheered, others started to cry. 

Erig unchained one of the women and gave her the key. 
"Unchain everyone. When you are released from the chains 
stay in this room. We'll return to escort you out of the 
castle." 

Erig and Mahoon organized a quick but through search of 
the castle, enlisting the help of every servant they 
found. All seemed to be glad that Sir Jalnu was dead. Two 
more of the arrested women were found naked and chained 
to the bed in an opulently furnished bedroom. Both of 
them had fresh whipmarks on their backs, and they were 
fainting with relief when they learned that Sir Jalnu was 
dead. 

When everyone above ground level had left the castle Erig 
escorted the captive women from the workroom to the 
bailey while Mahoon and the guard searched the dungeon. 
Only Mahoon came back upstairs. 

Erig asked, "Where's the guard?" 

"He tried to escape and I was forced to kill him." 

"He looked like he was too stupid to live." 

The sun was setting by the time the last of the castle's 
inhabitants, loaded down with their possessions, had 
crossed the drawbridge. As soon as everyone was clear 
three intense fires broke out in the castle. The outer 
walls were stone, but the floors and inner walls were old 
wood that burned fiercely, and flames were soon shooting 
up over a hundred meters into the sky. 

Erig and Mahoon trudged away from the castle. Even from a 
distance of several kilometers the fire was visible. 

Erig said, "The shuttle is on its way. I told them to 
look for the bonfire." 

"Good. I enjoyed our day in the country, but now I need 
sleep." 

* * * 

It was almost noon before Thar arrived at the Xenology 
office. He had questioned three Sun Priestesses the 
previous day and this had been so strenuous that he slept 
late. When he got to his office he found his assistant, 
Ensign Zoe Latour, working at her computer. He paused to 
admire her. Zoe was wearing the regulation uniform, but 
she must have had it custom made because it looked like 
it had been sprayed on her voluptuous body. She also had 
a stunningly beautiful face, and this combination never 
failed to arouse him. So far questions of military 
propriety had kept him from making any advances, but his 
resolve grew weaker every day. 

"Good morning, Thar." 

Thar broke out of his erotic trance and replied, "Oh, 
good morning, Zoe. What are you doing?" 

"I'm checking the list of equipment that Ms. Erig 
requisitioned for her visit to the planet yesterday. She 
had enough weaponry to conquer the place. I expect that 
she was disappointed that she didn't get to use all of 
it, but why did she expend three incendiary devices?" 

"I don't know. All she was supposed to do was look around 
a bit and ask a few questions." 

"I've heard whispers about some of the things she's done, 
especially on the more primitive planets. 'Ruthless' 
doesn't come close to describing it. 'Vicious' is closer, 
but that's still not strong enough. Of course, she's paid 
a price; once I saw her naked in the medical office, and 
her body is a mass of scars. It's marked her face too; 
she looks so hard and cruel. I'm surprised that you and 
she have a relationship, because I've heard that you 
prefer softer, more compliant women." Zoe clasped her 
hands behind her neck and pushed out her chest. 

Thar gulped and quickly sat down behind his desk. He 
tried to keep his mind on his work, but thoughts of Zoe 
kept interfering. He was glad when it was time to break 
for lunch; he wanted to go to his quarters and change his 
underwear. 

Thar had just entered his quarters when there was a knock 
and Zoe entered the compartment and casually locked the 
door. She said, "Thar, I have a question about something 
I saw when I accidentally activated a scenario on the 
holodeck the other night. It featured a woman who was 
captured by desert raiders. They tie her hands and feet 
and leave her in a tent, and she squirms and wiggles 
until she comes. This seemed so phony. I don't believe a 
grown woman could be kept immobilized by some rope, and 
it's not possible that it could be arousing. You've been 
to many places and seen a lot of strange things; do you 
think that holodeck scenario was realistic? 

"Well, ah, it could be. I've heard that some women find 
restraint arousing, and it may be possible to tie someone 
so that they can't release themselves." 

"I don't believe it. I'll bet that I could get loose no 
matter how tightly I was tied, and it wouldn't be a turn-
on. Let's try an experiment; here's some rope, use it to 
tie my hands." She handed Thar a large coil of soft rope. 
"Wait a minute, I don't want to muss my uniform." With a 
few deft movements Zoe stripped down to her panties. 

Zoe's story didn't fool Thar for a second, but he was not 
a bit reluctant to play along. He turned her around and 
tied her hands palm-to-palm. He tied her elbows and 
pulled them together until Zoe gasped. She wasn't thin, 
so Thar's ropes put plenty of strain on her arms even 
though her elbows wouldn't meet. If she were truly a 
beginner this was rough treatment, but he suspected that 
she was not nearly as naive as she pretended. 

He sat her on the edge of his bunk and crossed and tied 
her ankles. Then he rolled her onto her stomach and 
looped a doubled rope around her bound ankles and forced 
them towards her head. He ran an end of the rope under 
each armpit, over the shoulder, and tied them together at 
the back of her neck as he pushed on her legs. When he 
finished her back was arched and she was starting to 
moan. "There you are, Zoe. See if you can get loose from 
that." 

Thar was right; Zoe did have previous experience with 
bondage. When she was at the Academy her boyfriend liked 
to tie her up, but he was so afraid of hurting her that 
she was always able to escape. This was the first time 
that she had been tied by somebody who knew how to do it, 
and she knew in a flash that she wasn't going to free 
herself. She squirmed on the bunk, and the friction on 
her nipples caused them to harden. 

Thar said, "Here's something to help with the arousal". 
He looped a rope around Zoe's waist and tied a taut-line 
hitch. He rolled her onto her side and tightened the loop 
around her waist so the knot was in her navel; the hitch 
kept it from loosening. He put the end of the rope 
between her legs, around the wrist ropes, and back to the 
front where he pulled it tight and tied it off after 
centering it in her slit. After a moment's thought he 
rolled her back onto her stomach. Zoe squirmed, gasped, 
and moaned. She could feel her panties getting damp. 

Pami Erig tried to open Thar's door but it was locked. 
She knew the lock code, so she punched it in and entered 
the compartment. When she heard the gasps and moans her 
face hardened into an expression that would have been 
recognized by many of her previous opponents, if they had 
still been alive. She looked at Thar's groin, where his 
erection tented his trousers, and snarled, "If your prick 
was soft and wet you'd be a dead man right now." 

"Wait, Pami! Zoe just wanted to find out if she could 
escape if she was tied up. That's all there was to it." 
This explanation sounded implausible to Thar even while 
he was saying it, and he glanced around furtively to see 
if any weapons were handy. 

Violence was postponed when the ship's annunciator called 
all field survey officers to an emergency meeting in the 
wardroom. Thar was careful to stay between Zoe and Pami 
as he urged Pami out the door. She gave Zoe another 
glare, but let herself be crowded out into the 
passageway. Thar followed and locked the door behind him. 
He heard a cry of protest from Zoe, but that was a minor 
problem right now. He stayed close to Pami until they 
reached the wardroom. 

When all of the available field survey officers had 
assembled Captain Goda spoke: "You all know that we 
haven't been able to contact Sonji Regan since she 
reported that she was at the employment agency in 
Manufru, and information obtained by Erig and Mahoon 
indicates that she was forced to become a Bride 
contestant. A few minutes ago we received a transmission 
from her communicator, and we now have a confirmation 
that she is in the Temple of the Sun God in Lanudu." 

"Did she say anything, Captain?" 

"No, the transmission only lasted for a few seconds, and 
nothing was said." Captain Goda declared, "We are going 
to rescue Sonji, no matter what it takes. The First 
Directive regularly gets bent if it interferes with an 
operation, and if we have to trash it now we will. I've 
alerted the Space Marines, and they will be ready if we 
need them." 

Thar objected, "The temple is huge and we don't know 
where she is. If we have to search room-by-room the 
population will become alarmed, and it is also possible 
that the priests will kill the contestants. We have to 
put somebody into the temple to locate Sonji before we 
can attack." 

"You reported that only the contestants and their 
attendants can enter that part of the temple. How do we 
get around that?" 

Erig spoke up, "We have to impersonate a contestant and 
her entourage. We need a Guard, an Attendant, and the 
Bride. I'll be the Guard, Mahoon can be the Attendant, 
and I have a perfect candidate to be the Bride. But we 
don't have much time, and there are problems: We don't 
have the costumes we need and we don't know what they 
look like in detail. Also, Brides are from specific 
districts, so we can't just show up at the door of the 
temple as an anonymous entry. What we have to do to get 
around these problems is find a real contestant group and 
persuade them to let us take their place. I checked the 
surface surveillance scans and the AI is still tracking 
several contestants; those costumes make them easy to 
locate. We were hoping that one of them would be Sonji, 
but it does mean that we know where to find somebody to 
switch with." 

Captain Goda ordered, "Very well, Ms. Erig, that is what 
we'll do. You and Ms. Mahoon enter the temple and find 
Sonji. You'll also decide the optimum time to effect the 
rescue, since this is so dependent on unknown conditions. 
Carry what weapons and equipment you need, and you are 
authorized to use as much force as you think is 
necessary. Who's the Bride?" 

"Ensign Latour. The Bride has to be beautiful, and she is 
at least that." 

Thar protested, "But Zoe isn't a qualified field surveyor 
yet! She's hasn't had field training and she won't know 
what to do." 

Erig replied, "Don't worry, she has a very passive role. 
I'll take good care of her." 

Thar was afraid he knew what that meant, so he pleaded 
with Captain Goda, "Let me go with them, at least until 
they enter the temple." 

"No, I need you for other duties. I'm sure Erig and 
Mahoon can cope with any crisis." 

Captain Goda continued, "This meeting is over. Thar, you 
stay here for the briefing of the Space Marine officers. 
The rest of you are dismissed." 

Erig and Mahoon left together, and when they were in the 
passageway Mahoon said, "This sounds like fun, Pami, and 
I'm glad you asked for me. But what's happening between 
you and Thar? The last person who received that scowl was 
that bandit you were torturing." 

"That scum has been two-timing me with that Zoe slut, 
Swa." Erig appeared to be, and was, self-sufficent and 
sure of herself, but not too many men were attracted to 
her, and she was easily wounded by rejection. She had 
really loved Thar, so his betrayal was worse. She swore 
to herself that this would be the last time she would let 
a man hurt her. 

Then she had a pleasant thought. "Thar is going to be in 
that meeting for some time, isn't he?" 

"Yeah, those meetings with the Marines can drag on for 
hours. Why do you ask?" 

"No reason." Erig smiled. Mahoon was glad that something 
had cheered her up. 

* * * 

Time was running short. The contestants had to be in the 
temple by sundown tomorrow, which meant that the exchange 
would have to be made tonight. Bridium's surface had been 
continually scanned and the AI was programmed to search 
the images for the costumes worn by a Bride and her 
attendants. Erig and Mahoon entered the surveillance 
compartment, and Erig asked, "See anything that looks 
good, Hal?" 

The surveillance technician replied, "Yes, Ms. Erig. 
There's a group on a canal boat to the southwest of 
Lanudu. They've been easy to track because they spend a 
lot of time on top of the cabin. I guess they want the 
sunshine; this is the only time of year that there's more 
sun than clouds, which is lucky for us." 

"Those boats travel all night. It's going to be hard to 
make an unobtrusive switch on a moving boat. We'd have to 
take out the boatmen and any other passengers, and then 
there'd be a mysteriously abandoned boat left behind." 

"Most boats do travel all night, but this one will have 
to stop. The canal merges with a river, and the river is 
blocked by a low dam. There's an opening the boats go 
through, but it's like a rapids, and the helmsman needs 
daylight to run it. This boat won't get there until after 
dark, so the passengers will spend the night at an inn 
and take another boat in the morning." 

"This sounds good. Is there any other group that looks 
better?" 

"No, ma'am. All of the other groups are traveling by 
coach, and we don't have an exact fix on their location." 

"How built-up is the area? We're going to have to land 
the shuttle close by." 

"It's sparsely populated. The area is mostly marshland 
and there isn't much agriculture." 

"All right, we'll go with this one. Map out a place where 
the shuttle can land and all the routes we'll have to 
take; we don't want to end up floundering in a swamp. 
Swa, you round up a crew and I'll get the equipment 
assembled. Find some Marines who'll do as we tell them." 

The shuttle launched from the Interloper after sunset. 
Erig and Mahoon again used the parasails; they would land 
first and check out the shuttle landing zone to be sure 
that no locals were around when the shuttle touched down. 
They launched from the shuttle and on the glide down they 
circled over the landing zone, a high spot in the marsh, 
and continued on to land a few hundred meters from the 
inn. They didn't detect any hidden observers and the 
shuttle landing proceeded as planned, almost a kilometer 
from the inn. The support team was six Space Marines; if 
all went as planned they would never be seen by the local 
inhabitants. 

Erig and Mahoon were again disguised as Espians. They 
concealed themselves outside the entrance to the inn 
until the canal boat arrived, and then entered just 
before the passengers and found seats in the main room. 
Their timing was perfect; the passengers thought that 
they had been there all along, and the innkeeper thought 
they arrived on the canal boat. 

The passengers entered the inn and most of them ordered 
food. The Bride group was among these, and when they had 
finished their meal Erig and Mahoon approached them. Erig 
said, "Excuse me, but I noticed your costumes. We heard 
about the choosing of the Bride, but we are recently 
arrived in this country, and this is unusual to us. Could 
you explain what it means? 

The Guard answered, "Of course. Please sit down." 

Erig and Mahoon sat down and Erig said, "Thank you. We 
are enjoying our tour of your country, but talking to 
people we meet is the best part. Can we buy you drinks? 
She beckoned to the serving wench and ordered a round of 
beers. She asked, "What part of Bridium do you hail 
from?" 

The Guard answered, "We're from Exaihu, a city southwest 
of here." 

"Does every city have a Bride in the contest?" 

"Some cities have more than one; the contestants come 
from districts. Our district is Exaihu 3." 

Erig said to herself, 'Thank you! That's what I needed to 
know.' To the Guard she said, "I suppose no one wants to 
be Bride. Is that why your contestant is chained?" 

"That's the way it started, but now most contestants 
consider it a civic duty, and the chains are just a 
traditional part of the costume. She's not really 
restrained; show her, Cala." The Bride's wrists were in 
bronze cuffs attached to the front of a bronze chain 
around her waist; she pressed a button on a cuff and it 
opened. 

The beer arrived and there was casual conversation while 
it was consumed. The Guard bought a round and the talk 
continued. Finally Erig said, "Thank you so much for 
talking with us. We're going to bed now. See you in 
morning." 

"We'd better do the same." Everyone went to the desk and 
rented rooms. Erig and Mahoon followed the Bride group 
all the way into their room. The Guard opened her mouth 
to protest the intrusion, but before she could say 
anything Erig and Mahoon used their phasors to stun all 
three. Once they were stunned they were injected with 
drugs to keep them unconscious. Erig contacted the 
support team and directed them to the window of the room, 
which was located on a secluded side of the inn. Four of 
the Marines watched for intruders and the other two 
caught the Bride group as Erig and Mahoon dropped them 
and their luggage from the window. They would be kept 
sedated on the ship until the contest was over. 

Erig and Mahoon managed to sleep until two hours before 
dawn when the shuttle landed and the support team 
contacted them. They were bringing some equipment and the 
costumes, modified to fit. Zoe was with them. She moved 
stiffly and had trouble climbing the ladder to the 
window; she held her arms like she was in pain. 

Mahoon noticed that Zoe's wrists were red and chafed. She 
asked, "Why are your wrists all chewed up, Zoe? Have you 
been playing tie-up games?" 

Zoe glared at Erig. "I don't want to talk about it." 

Mahoon shrugged. "Whatever. Here's your costume." 

The three women dressed in their costumes. Erig, as the 
Guard, had the most to put on. The bronze armor had been 
copied in plastic, as she had instructed. She hoped her 
other instructions had also been carried out. 

Zoe put on the gown and sandals of the Bride and she 
liked the way she looked; the bodice displayed her 
breasts to maximum advantage. When Erig moved to put the 
chains on her she said, "No way!" 

"It's part of the costume, Zoe. The chains are just 
symbolic; you can open them by pressing these buttons." 
She demonstrated by closing them on her own wrists; when 
she pressed the buttons the cuffs opened. 

Zoe was mollified; she allowed Erig to cuff her hands in 
front and lock the chain around her waist. She wasn't 
happy with the chain connecting her ankles, but she 
decided it was too late to object. She made Erig 
demonstrate that those cuffs could also be opened by 
pressing the buttons. 

The three Star Fleet officers were waiting at the canal 
port when the boat arrived. The tickets had been found 
when the real Guard's effects had been searched, and the 
boatman let the group on board after only a glance at 
them. They took seats in the cabin; there were other 
passengers so they didn't talk. Erig unobtrusively 
activated her communicator from time to time so the ship 
could track them. 

There were a few minutes of excitement when the boat went 
through the opening in the dam, but the rest of the trip 
was uneventful, and Erig and Mahoon took turns sleeping; 
Zoe slept for almost all of the trip. When the boat 
arrived in Lanudu they hired a carriage and a short ride 
took them to the temple. The driver knew which of the 
many doors was the correct one; they went through it and 
found themselves in front of a desk occupied by a middle-
aged woman in the red gown of a temple official. 

The official demanded, "Show me your certificate." 

Erig handed it over; this document had also been found in 
the Guard's effects. The woman said, "Exaihu 3, huh." She 
checked the name off a list and used her pen to mark the 
certificate and the back of Erig's hand with a cryptic 
symbol. She said, "Here's your receipt, and you now have 
the custodial obligation for your district's contestant. 
Do you know what that means?" 

"No, this is the first time I've been a Guard." 

"You are now personally responsible for your contestant. 
You have to be with her any time she isn't chained in her 
room and you have to make sure she gets to where she 
should be. The judging takes place in the Tabernacle, and 
you stay with your contestant from when it starts until 
she has been disposed of; either to a cubicle, the high 
priests' quarters, or the sacrificial altar. And remember 
this: If you do anything wrong you will be executed. 
Understand?" 

When Erig nodded she said, "Good. This woman will show 
you to your quarters." 

Their equipment was contained in a carpetbag. Erig picked 
it up, but before they moved the official called out 
sharply, "Wait! The Guard must always be ready to defend 
the Bride, so she cannot carry anything except weapons. 
The Attendant must take the bag." 

With a smile, Erig passed the bag to Mahoon. Mahoon 
accepted it with a grimace; the bag was small, but the 
equipment it contained was heavy. 

They followed another woman in a red gown up one corridor 
and down another until they were deep inside the temple. 
It would have been a long walk for Zoe's chained ankles, 
but the official pushed her along in a small, two-wheeled 
cart; she had to sit in it with her knees against her 
chest. Finally they reached a corridor that was dimly lit 
by oil lamps mounted on wall brackets. The corridor had 
many doors on both sides; most of the doors were open, 
and small groups of Guards and Attendants were scattered 
around. 

The official opened a door, lit a lamp mounted on the 
wall of the room, and waved them inside. They entered a 
room about three meters on a side that contained a bed, a 
couple of chairs, a small table, and a washstand. A door 
in one corner led to a smaller room, one meter by three, 
that had a pallet on the floor and a bronze collar 
attached by a bronze chain to a knee-high ring set in the 
wall. The official said, "You two share the outer room 
and the Bride goes in here." 

She wheeled Zoe into the closet-like room, dumped her on 
the pallet, and locked the collar around her neck. The 
length of the chain was just long enough to let Zoe stand 
up. The official took a key from a hook and gave it to 
Erig. "Here's the collar key." 

Zoe protested this crude treatment, but the official 
ignored her and said to Mahoon, "Come with me and I'll 
show you where to get food and where to dump the chamber 
pot. You got here just in time for the midday meal." 

Zoe struggled to a sitting position and pushed the 
buttons on her wrist cuffs. They moved freely, but 
nothing happened. She pushed in a button and tried to 
pull the cuff open. It was still locked on her wrist. She 
shouted, "Hey! I can't get these cuffs off." 

Erig strolled to the door and calmly viewed the 
distraught woman. "They won't open? Something must have 
broken inside." She made a mental note to give a bonus to 
the technician who had rigged the buttons so they would 
only work once, just like she asked him to. "We can work 
on them later. In the meantime, just relax and enjoy. I 
know how this turns you on." 

Yesterday Zoe had spent a very long time hogtied on 
Thar's bed. It had been fun for the first couple of 
hours, but after that pain had swamped pleasure. Right 
now her enthusiasm for bondage was at a low ebb. She 
pleaded, "At least take this chain off my waist." 

"Sorry, Mahoon has the key. You'll have to wait until she 
gets back." 

"You've got the key to the collar. Surely you can take it 
off." 

"I could, but I won't. You heard what that official said; 
a Guard would be executed if something went wrong, so she 
would never risk letting the Bride loose. If I let you go 
now it would compromise the disguise. Stop whining. If 
you want to be a field surveyor you have to learn to take 
the pain with the pleasure; it's not all fun stuff like 
looting and burning." 

Zoe continued to plead and argue, so Erig closed the door 
to the closet and bolted it shut. Zoe screamed and yelled 
when she found herself locked in the dark, but Erig had 
no trouble ignoring her. 

Mahoon returned to the room carrying a tray loaded with 
food and drink. "Here's our lunch, Pami. They have a good 
selection, so I only took things I recognized." She put 
the tray on the table and asked, "Why is Zoe yelling like 
that?" 

Erig piled some food on a plate and started to eat. 
Between bites she explained, "She wanted me to let her 
run around loose. I told her that it would compromise the 
disguise, but she didn't like hearing that at all; I got 
tired of the noise so I shut the door. When I finish 
eating I'm going to scout around the temple. You can feed 
her after I'm gone." 

Mahoon ate her lunch, and when Erig left she unbolted the 
closet door and took the leftovers in to Zoe. "Here's 
your lunch, Zoe." 

"How can I eat while I'm chained up like this?" 

"I'll feed you." 

"This is so degrading. Erig is responsible, and I'll see 
to it that she pays for all this." 

"Zoe, were you born stupid or has your brain atrophied 
because beauty has greased your slide through life?" 

"That's not fair! I didn't do anything wrong." 

"Zoe, Erig loved Thar, and she was deeply hurt by what 
you did. You are in her power and she has good cause to 
hate you. Is it smart to antagonize her further? Also, 
she is the ranking officer here and you do call yourself 
a Star Fleet officer, so don't you think you should obey 
her orders? Those are two excellent reasons for you to 
shut up and do as you are told." 

Zoe didn't say anything, but it was obvious to Mahoon 
that she still believed herself to be grievously wronged. 
When Mahoon offered her a spoonful of food she ate it, 
but she was not happy. She pouted, "Being fed like this 
is so humiliating." 

"I can put the food in a bowl on the floor and you can 
root for it. Is that your preference?" 

The expression on Zoe's face made it obvious that she had 
added Mahoon to her enemies list. In her thoughts Mahoon 
lamented the decline in the quality of Star Fleet 
officers, but she didn't say anything, because she knew 
it was impossible to shake Zoe's faith that Zoe was the 
center of the universe. When Zoe had been fed Mahoon 
bolted the door to the corridor and stretched out on the 
bed. All this strife was making her tired. 

Mahoon was awakened by pounding on the outside door. She 
got up and admitted Erig, who said, "I had quite a tour 
of the temple. I even got to see the sacrificial altar. 
It's very ingenious, in a gruesome sort of way." 

"What do they do? Rip out the Bride's heart and offer it 
to the Sun God while it's still beating?" 

"Nothing as crude as that. The sacrifice takes place on 
the roof of the Tabernacle. They have this giant mirror, 
it must be over two meters by three meters, and it's made 
from hundreds of little squares of polished silver. All 
of them are set so they reflect to the same spot. The 
whole thing is mounted on trunnions and counterbalanced 
so that it's easy to rotate. It's flipped into position 
exactly at noon, and the sunlight is concentrated on the 
Bride. The priest who gave me the tour has seen a lot of 
sacrifices. He said that the mirror produces enough heat 
to burn a hole in the Bride's chest and kill her in just 
a few minutes." 

"Ugh. What do they do if it's cloudy? Give the Bride a 
raincheck?" 

"No, if the Bride isn't sacrificed exactly at noon on the 
day of the solstice it doesn't count. The high priest 
declares that the Bride has been rejected by the Sun God, 
and they have to do some penitential ritual. Naturally, 
the Bride is declared to be impure and she is taken to a 
quarry outside the city and put to death by stoning. This 
is rare though, because this time of year is a brief 
interval between the end of the winter storms and the 
start of the summer storms. According to the priest, 
there hasn't been a rejected Bride in the last twenty 
years." 

"Did you find Sonji?" 

"No. But I saw only a few Brides. Most of them must be 
kept chained in their room; this is even more likely for 
Sonji, because she was kidnapped." 

"So what do we do?" 

"We're going to have to wait until after the contest and 
get her out then." 

"We can wait until then to get Zoe out, too." 

"Yeah, if we wanted to get Zoe out we'd do it then." 

Zoe was listening to all of this. She was beginning to 
believe that she might be in trouble. 

It wasn't long before an official moved down the corridor 
announcing that it was time for the evening meal. Mahoon 
went off to collect their food and perform her other 
tasks. Erig sat in the room and enjoyed the silence; 
Mahoon must have convinced Zoe to behave herself. 

When Erig and Mahoon had finished their meal and Zoe had 
been fed there wasn't much to do in the dimly lit room. 
Mahoon left to attend to Attendant duties and Erig 
prepared for sleep; she sighed with relief when she took 
off the armor. She was surprised that the complaints from 
Zoe had stopped; maybe she had finally realized that they 
wouldn't do her any good. She looked into the closet and 
asked, "Do you need anything?" 

Zoe just shook her head, no. "Good night, then." Erig 
closed the closet door and bolted it. 

Erig stripped and washed; there wasn't enough water to do 
more than clean her face and hands. She got into bed and 
pulled the blanket over her naked body. A few minutes 
later Mahoon returned to the room. Erig said, "Be sure to 
bolt the door." 

"Got it." Mahoon bolted the door and stripped to her 
shift. "If we have to share a bed I'm glad it's as big as 
this one. I'm not bi." 

"Of course you're not. And I'm definitely not bi." 

Mahoon blew out the lamp and the room became totally 
dark. She removed her shift and slid into bed. Her bare 
hip collided with Erig's bare hip and she recoiled from 
the contact. 

Erig said, "Don't worry about casual contact. If I wanted 
to have sex with you I'd do something like this..." Erig 
rolled Mahoon onto her back and climbed on top of her. 

Mahoon opened her mouth to protest but the words were 
blocked by Erig's lips and tongue. When the kiss was 
finally broken off she managed to croak, "I thought you 
said you weren't bi." 

"I'm not. I'm finished with men." Erig accompanied the 
words with fingers; one hand gently stroked Mahoon's 
right breast while the other explored between Mahoon's 
thighs. 

Mahoon struggled, but then she realized that Erig's touch 
felt good; then it felt more than good as Erig's finger 
caressed the magic spot. She thought, 'Why am I fighting 
this when it's so arousing?' She returned the kiss and 
her hands mimicked Erig's hands. Erig started the action, 
but Mahoon caught up at the climax. 

After several encores both women slept. It was some time 
later that Erig was awakened by a buzzing from the valley 
between her breasts where her communicator was nestled. 
She activated it and listened to the message. Then she 
shook Mahoon until she was awake. "Guess what, Swa? The 
ship just called to tell us that the shuttle picked up 
Sonji a few minutes ago. It seems that she escaped while 
she was on the boat, but she lost her communicator so no 
one knew about it." 

"You mean we put out all this effort to worm our way into 
the temple and Sonji was never here?" 

"Yeah, but it's not a total waste. Now we have a chance 
to get rid of Zoe." 

"You're joking, of course." 

"Oh, of course." 

* * * 

Sonji dashed across the towpath and hid in some bushes 
until the boat moved on. She could hear the tired horses 
clopping down a road not far from where she was hiding as 
the hostler led them away. She had no better idea, so she 
made her way to the road and trailed along after the 
horses until they were put into a barn on the outskirts 
of a small village. The road she was on was more than a 
farm track and it seemed to continue beyond the village, 
so she decided to walk on for a while; getting away from 
the canal was probably a good idea. 

Sonji was regretting that she hadn't tried to recover her 
communicator. There were several methods of contacting 
the ship without using it, but they all took time to 
prepare and she didn't have the equipment she would need. 

As she walked along the road she went through Glida's 
pouch. There was enough money to buy food for several 
days if she was careful. She was surprised but pleased to 
discover a tinder box. There was also a thin, very sharp 
knife in an arm scabbard. She strapped it to the inside 
of her left forearm. Sonji wasn't a born warrior, but she 
felt a surge of confidence now that she had a weapon 
close at hand. 

After an hour or so of brisk walking Sonji found a 
haystack close to the road and burrowed into it and slept 
until she was awakened by the morning sun. Sonji brushed 
off as much hay as she could as she walked for another 
couple of hours. 

She entered another, larger village where a main road 
crossed the one that she was on. A large coaching inn 
stood at the crossroads and Sonji entered the uncrowded 
main room and found a seat at an empty table. The serving 
wench came over to her, and after a careful enquiry about 
prices Sonji ordered a bowl of porridge. 

"May I join you?" The language was Espian, and the 
speaker was an Espian woman in her mid-thirties, 
elegantly dressed in a brocaded gown and a fur-trimmed 
cloak. She carried a large, ornate carpetbag. 

Sonji had a moment of panic. Had this woman detected her 
disguise? But there was nothing to do but play it out. 
She replied in the same language, "Certainly, please do." 

The woman sat across from Sonji and shrugged off her 
cloak. "It's good to find a compatriot so far from home. 
My name is Lucina, and I'm from Carunda. Where do you 
hail from?" 

Carunda was the capitol and largest city of Espia. Before 
Sonji could answer the serving wench appeared at the 
table and Lucina ordered a lavish meal. 

"My name is Sonji, and I'm from a little village in the 
north that no one has ever heard of." 

"I don't mean to offend you, but you seem to be having 
bad luck." 

Sonji had prepared a story to account for her 
circumstances, and she tried it out. "Yes, I had accepted 
a position as a governess, but when I arrived I found the 
family had made other arrangements. Then to make things 
worse all of my belongings were stolen and I had to spend 
most of my money just to obtain these ill-fitting 
garments." 

"Oh, that's too bad. I hope you have other resources. 
Bridium can be a cruel country if you don't have any 
money." 

"I hope to contact some friends who can help me get back 
home." 

There was a pause as the serving wench delivered Sonji's 
bowl of porridge and a large tray containing Lucina's 
food. Lucina paid for everything and said, "I didn't 
realize I had ordered so much. You'll have to help me eat 
some of this." 

Sonji tried to object, but Lucina insisted that she share 
the food. After they had eaten Lucina said, "I have an 
idea that will solve both of our problems. Some time ago 
I accepted a position as a governess to a family with 
special requirements. The children are actually the wards 
of my employer, and their trustees insist that a 
governess be present in the home. I took a large bonus 
and agreed to be there by tomorrow because the trustees 
are making an inspection in a few days." 

Lucina paused to drink some cha. "Unfortunately, my new 
gentleman friend doesn't want me to be away from him at 
all. I don't want to disappoint him, but if I don't 
appear to take up the position it will reflect badly on 
my cousin's employment agency and cause problems for me 
with my family. I propose that you take my place as 
governess." 

"But how can I do that? Won't your employer object when 
he sees that I'm not you?" 

"No, we've never met; my cousin arranged everything by 
correspondence. All he expects is an Espian. I'll give 
you the letters, and I also have a coach ticket that you 
can use. It's almost a day's journey from here to Herfru, 
the town nearest the estate." 

Sonji considered the offer. This would give her a place 
to stay until she contacted the ship, and it might even 
be suitable for her survey assignment. She smiled. "I 
accept your offer. It was good of you to make it." 

"I'm happy that it helps us both." Lucina pulled a bundle 
of papers out of her reticule and gave them to Sonji. 
"Here are the letters. Read them to see what is expected. 
And here is some money to pay your expenses." There was 
the sound of horses on the road at the front of the inn. 
"That's the coach back to Manufru, so I must be going." 
Lucina gave Sonji a hug, picked up her cloak and bag, and 
hurried out of the room. 

Sonji inquired and was told that the coach to Herfru 
would arrive in about an hour. While she waited she read 
the papers that Lucina had given her. The employer's name 
was Nurfo, and he was the stepfather and legal guardian 
of twin girls, Lila and Reni. In his letters Nurfo said 
the employment agency had been recommended to him, and he 
wished to engage a strict governess for the girls, whom 
he described as disobedient and insolent, and 
uncontrollable since the death of their mother half a 
year ago. The agency replied that they had just the 
person, who was experienced in dealing with the special 
requirements of this type of situation. Lucina's name was 
mentioned, but there was no physical description. 

In other letters Nurfo and the agency came to an 
agreement on the governess' wages. The amount seemed to 
be much higher than the going rate. And why did he send 
all the way to Espia for a governess when there were many 
available locally? 

Sonji was pondering this when her coach arrived. She was 
still tired and she tried to sleep during the journey but 
it was impossible because of the lurching and jolting 
when the coach hit every pothole in the road. It was so 
uncomfortable that she understood why most people 
traveled on the canal boats if they were available. 

Sonji arrived in Herfru just before sunset. One letter 
had included directions to the estate, so she hired a 
carriage and began what she hoped would be a short 
journey. She was disappointed in this; her destination 
was another hour away along country lanes, and twilight 
was fading when she reached the gate in the high stone 
wall surrounding the house and grounds. She spoke to the 
gatekeeper, a gnarled old man, and was relieved when he 
told her Lucina was expected. He unlocked the massive 
iron gate and the carriage proceeded up a graveled drive 
to a large, ugly house. 

Sonji left the coach and paid the driver, and climbed a 
flight of stairs to reach the massive front door. She 
used the cast iron knocker and waited several minutes 
until the door was opened by an old man. Sonji said, 
"Good evening. My name is Lucina, and I am the new 
governess." 

He invited her inside and closed the door. "Please wait 
here, Miss. I'll tell Mrs. Durna you have arrived." 

"Who is Mrs. Durna? I was hired by Mr. Nurfo." 

"She is the housekeeper, Miss. She is in charge when the 
master is absent." The butler tottered away. 

Ten minutes later a middle-aged woman with steel-gray 
hair and a steely expression arrived and said 
disapprovingly, "So you're Lucina. It's about time you 
got here." 

"I had some misfortunes on my journey. But I have arrived 
on the day specified in the contract." 

"Those clothes you are wearing are unsuitable. Do you 
have any others?" 

"No, my belongings were stolen." 

"Humph. Cori, your predecessor, left some clothing here 
and you are about the same size. There may be something 
you can use. Come. I will show you to your room." Durna 
lit a candle from the oil lamp and led the way to a 
narrow stairway concealed by a door. 

Sonji was taken aback by this brusque treatment, but then 
she realized that she didn't have any experience in this 
milieu, and this may be the normal way that governesses 
were treated here. She followed Durna up two flights of 
stairs and down an uncarpeted hallway to a small, bare 
room that contained a narrow bed, a washstand, and a 
massive wardrobe made of some dark wood. 

Durna said, "This is your room. The nursery is next 
door." 

"Can I meet the children?" 

"Tomorrow, they are in bed now." 

"Can I have some food?" 

Durna paused, then said grudgingly, "Very well. I will 
send up a maid with something." 

"When can I meet Mr. Nufro?" 

"He will return soon. I will summon you when he wishes to 
see you. Breakfast is an hour after sunrise." 

Durna walked away without another word, leaving behind a 
bemused Sonji, who shrugged and sat on the bed. It had 
been a long day, and she wanted to sleep. A few minutes 
later a maid arrived with a tray containing a cup of weak 
cha and a chunk of slightly stale bread. Stale or not, 
Sonji ate it. 

Preparation for bed didn't take long, and Sonji was soon 
trying to get comfortable on a hard, lumpy mattress 
covered by a smelly blanket. Fatigue was stronger than 
discomfort, and she was soon asleep. 

The next morning a maid carrying a pail of cold water 
woke Sonji at dawn. She washed as best she could in the 
cold water and without soap, and then rummaged through 
the wardrobe. She felt uneasy when she discovered that 
her predecessor had apparently left behind all of the 
clothing that she owned; not only a cloak and several 
dresses, but also nightclothes, stockings, and underwear. 
Clothing was very expensive in this pre-industrial 
society, and she couldn't think of any innocent reason 
for abandoning it. 

Sonji put on a dress that almost fit and made her way 
downstairs. She found food laid out in a small dining 
room and was just finishing a bowl of lumpy porridge when 
Durna entered the room and selected food for her meal. 

Durna pointedly didn't sit next to Sonji. She silently 
ate her food, and when she had finished she ordered, 
"Come with me and I'll take you to the children. They've 
had a slack morning so far and it is time to start their 
lessons." 

They trudged back up the stairs, and when they reached 
Sonji's room Durna went past it to the next door. She 
took a key from her pocket, unlocked the door, and gave 
the key to Sonji. "The door is to be kept locked anytime 
the girls are unsupervised. Mr. Nufro insists on this." 

Before she opened the door Durna picked up a cane that 
was leaning on the wall next to it and gave it to Sonji. 
"Take this. It is the symbol of your authority, and you 
are to use it freely. But I don't have to tell you that." 

The room was brightly lit by sunlight streaming through a 
barred window, so Sonji could see clearly; believing what 
she saw was another matter. The room was similar to hers, 
except that two iron-framed cots replaced the bed. Each 
cot supported a supine young woman, and each woman's 
wrists and ankles were strapped to the frame of her cot. 

Sonji blurted out, "Are they always strapped down at 
night?" 

"Yes. They can't be trusted not to engage in some 
disgusting sexual activity if they are free and 
unsupervised." 

Each woman's wrists were strapped to the sides of the cot 
near her hips, and their ankles were strapped to the 
bottom corners of the cot. Durna moved to release one of 
the women and Sonji freed the other. When they were 
unstrapped each woman immediately moved to the head of 
her cot and stood at attention. Sonji could easily tell 
that they were sisters, but they weren't identical twins. 
They were clearly adults, and they would have been pretty 
except for their fearful expressions. 

Durna said, "They are finally starting to shape up. Cori 
was much too lenient with them, but in the three weeks 
since she left I have managed to correct some of the 
slack behavior she allowed. But it has taken me from my 
other duties, so they will be in your charge from now on. 
I'll go through the routine with you today, and you are 
to follow it until you receive further instructions from 
Mr. Nurfo." 

She turned to the twins and announced, "This is Lucina 
and she is your new governess. She was hired because of 
her experience in correcting recalcitrant girls, so your 
easy days are over." 

The girls' eyes moved to Sonji and then snapped back to a 
straight-ahead, blank stare. Durna ordered, "We can't 
stand around all day, girls. Perform your ablutions and 
dress so we can get started with your lessons." 

The twins scrambled to use the chamberpot and wash, and 
each put on a drab, sleeveless dress that barely reached 
her knees. Underwear and shoes were not part of the 
ensemble. Without being told they went to the wardrobe 
and each took out a heavy wooden bar with straps riveted 
to it along its length. 

Durna took one of the bars and said to Sonji, "This 
backbar is used for posture training. Watch how I put it 
on Lila. This short strap on the end goes around the 
neck; don't overtighten it. This long strap goes around 
the waist; make it as tight as you can." She pulled hard 
and Lila gasped as her waist was constricted. "Use these 
straps to secure the wrists and elbows, so." Lila groaned 
as her elbows were squeezed together. "See how it 
stiffens the spine and keeps the shoulders back? Now you 
put the other one on Reni. Notice how cooperative they 
are? If they ever resist call me, and if we need more 
help Lurt the footman is available." 

Sonji was torn. She didn't want to hurt Reni, but she 
didn't have a clear idea of all that was going on here, 
so she decided to go along with the program for now. She 
strapped Reni to the backbar, and she pulled all the 
straps tight. 

Durna nodded her approval and said, "Now all that is 
lacking are the hobbles." She strapped leather cuffs 
separated by a thin chain to the ankles of the twins. 
"This length of chain was found to be the best. It's 
amusing to watch them when the chain is short, but then 
it is too easy for them to trip on the stairs." 

Sonji was appalled. A fall down stairs could be fatal to 
someone trussed up like the twins, but Durna seemed to be 
serious. 

Durna said, "Now that they are outfitted the posture 
training can start." 

She put a book on the top of each twin's head and said, 
"Forward, girls. You know the route." The twins shuffled 
out the door, along the hallway and down the stairs. 

Durna and Sonji followed to the top of the stairs, where 
Durna stopped and said, "You don't need to go up and down 
the stairs yourself. Just be sure to keep them moving, 
and that the books don't fall off. If a girl drops her 
book the penalty is five stripes on her bottom with the 
cane. Watch that they go all the way to the ground floor; 
they are tempted to cheat near the end of the lesson." 

"How long do they have to keep this up?" 

"Until lunch is announced. That's about three hours from 
now." 

"Three hours! That's torture; how can they stand it?" 
Once on a survey Sonji herself had been tied like that, 
and her arms hurt for days afterwards. 

"It was difficult at first, but now they're used to it." 

"Don't you get bored, just watching them for three 
hours?" 

"No, I could watch them all day." 

As the hours went by Sonji was both bored and upset as 
the twins' ordeal continued and their suffering became 
more visible. They were both crying and stifling moans as 
they dragged their aching legs up each step, and their 
arms had turned that red color that meant they were numb 
now, but would be excruciatingly painful once circulation 
returned. 

So far the twins had managed to hold their heads steady 
and no book had fallen, but finally fatigue caused Lila 
to stumble on the top step and her book fell off her 
head. Durna was obviously pleased as she said, "Stop 
there Lila! You have a penalty due. Lucina, give her five 
strokes with your cane. Across the back of her thighs is 
the best place." 

Sonji had a moment of panic when she realized that she 
was being ordered to beat Lila. Lila didn't bother to 
plead or protest; she bent over as far as she could and 
leaned her head against the wall. Durna lifted her dress 
and tucked it under the end of the backbar. Sonji had 
never caned anyone, but she pretended that it was routine 
for her. She thought, 'Better too hard than too soft', 
and swung the cane. Lila screamed as a red line sprang up 
across her thighs. 

Durna was delighted. "Well hit, Lucina! Do it again." 

It was all Sonji could do to hold onto the cane; she was 
shocked by what she had done. Then her training asserted 
itself and she got back into her character, the sadistic 
governess. The next four strokes were just as hard, and 
Lila screamed just as loudly. 

A maid arrived to announce that lunch was ready, to the 
relief of three of the four participants in the training 
session. The twins were returned to their room and 
strapped to their cots. Durna and Sonji could hear their 
screams even when they were downstairs. 

Durna said, "I let them carry on like that; I enjoy it. 
When they stop screaming a maid will release them and 
feed them." 

Sonji was dreading the afternoon, when the torture of the 
twins would resume, but she and they were pleasantly 
surprised when Durna announced that the twins would have 
a free afternoon in the garden. They were tied, of 
course, each with her back to a tree and her arms pulled 
back and connected by a rope around the wrists. This was 
their only restraint, and the twins considered it to be 
insignificant. The trees were about three meters apart, 
and they carried on a low-voiced conversation whenever no 
one else was close enough to hear them. 

After the twins had been secured Durna said to Sonji, 
"They are having a free afternoon because the trustees 
will be here tomorrow and they must look presentable if 
the trustees want to meet with them. Keep them here until 
dinner, and then bring them inside." 

Sonji spent the afternoon walking in the garden and 
thinking about what she should do. She was anxious to 
make contact with the ship, but she would need some time 
to herself in order to prepare the emergency signal, 
which was four precisely spaced fires. She had to find 
some wood and some string or rope to locate the fire 
positions. She rationalized that she could do this 
tomorrow; she would probably have some free time then. 
She was undecided as to what action she should take to 
help the twins. This was too brutal a regime to be normal 
Bridium child-rearing, and she felt guilty about her part 
in the morning's torture, especially Lila's beating. 

That night when it was time to sleep Sonji tossed 
restlessly. She was torn by the conflict between her 
decent instincts that wanted to help the twins and her 
Survey training that told her not to interfere in non-
Amalgamation cultures. Eventually she decided to put off 
making a decision until she had more information, and 
then she was able to sleep. 

At dawn Sonji was again awakened by the maid, but this 
morning she was accompanied by Durna, who said, "The 
trustees will be here in a few hours. Get the girls 
decently dressed and then bring them down to the kitchen. 
You will wait there until you are called." 

Sonji hurriedly dressed and went to the twins' room. Lila 
and Reni were strapped to their cots, and Sonji felt pity 
for them as she was unbuckling the straps. When they were 
free she said, "Get dressed in decent clothes. The 
trustees will be here this morning." 

The twins used the chamberpot and the washbasin and then 
put on obviously expensive dresses. This morning they 
also wore shoes and underwear. When Sonji told them to go 
to the kitchen they scrambled to obey; their faces showed 
fright bordering on terror when they looked at Sonji. 
Sonji was puzzled, until she realized that she had picked 
up the cane from the floor and was idly swinging it. 

While they waited in the kitchen Sonji told the cook to 
provide her and the twins with a meal. The cook looked at 
the cane and hurried to obey. This made it clear to Sonji 
that is was not only the twins who received harsh 
discipline in this household. When the food was ready the 
twins hesitated; they didn't start to eat until Sonji 
signaled that it was acceptable. 

After an interminable wait Durna entered the kitchen and 
said, "The trustees want to meet you, Lucina. They're in 
the library, go right in. I'll watch the girls." 

Sonji went to the entrance hall and got directions to the 
library from the butler. She entered and found herself 
facing a long table with four men seated behind it. One 
of the men said, "You must be Lucina. I am Mr. Nurfo, and 
these gentlemen are the trustees of my stepdaughters' 
estate. Gentlemen, this is the governess that I've 
engaged to guide the twins." 

Two of the trustees were elderly, and they didn't seem to 
be paying much attention. The other man was much younger, 
and he was definitely paying attention. He asked, "Why is 
there a new governess? What happened to Cori?" 

Nurfo answered, "She had a family emergency; I believe 
her mother is gravely ill. She requested leave and I gave 
it to her." 

The trustee asked Sonji, "You are from Espia, are you 
not? Have you much experience as a governess?" 

"Yes, sir." 

Nurfo interrupted before more questions could be asked. 
"Lucina has excellent references, and she has my every 
confidence, Mr. Trel. If there are no further questions 
for her I would like to move on to the financial matters. 
None? Then you may go, Lucina." 

Sonji returned to the kitchen and Durna left. There was 
another long wait, and Sonji was made uncomfortable by 
the fearful glances that she received from the twins; she 
wasn't accustomed to being an object of terror. 

Finally Durna returned. She said, "Mr. Nurfo wants to see 
you in his study; I'll wait here with the girls. We'll 
have to skip the morning lesson because the trustees are 
still here." 

Nurfo was seated behind a desk in the study. When Sonji 
entered he said, "Close the door and sit down, Lucina. I 
want to make sure you understand what I expect from you. 
I am paying a lot of money, and I want results." 

Sonji didn't know what he was talking about, but she 
played along. "Of course you do. I'm sure I can do what 
you want." 

"What I want is for the twins to sign their estate over 
to me. They will be twenty in half a year, and that's 
when they legally become adults and gain control of their 
money. Before then I want them broken so that they will 
do exactly as I tell them, even when they are out of my 
physical control. I can't just forge or extort a 
signature; the girls have to sign in front of a notary. 
But they must be broken without leaving any scars on 
their bodies." 

"Why do you need me? Durna is brutal enough to do it." 

"She is brutal, but she has no finesse. She only knows 
how to inflict physical pain; you were brought here 
because of your reputation for altering the way your 
subjects think. Also, if questions are asked it would be 
hard to explain why a housekeeper is disciplining the 
girls, but that's what a governess is supposed to do." 

"What happens to the twins once they sign away their 
money?" 

"Nothing can happen to them before they are twenty, 
because then the estate goes to someone else. After that, 
who knows? But why do you care?" 

"I don't care. I was just curious." 

"Mind your own business and do what you've been hired to 
do. Get back to work, and tell Durna I want to see her 
now." 

Sonji returned to the kitchen and told Durna that Nurfo 
wanted her. Once again the twins' fear intensified; they 
seemed to be more afraid of her than they were of Durna. 
This was the final nudge that made Sonji decide that 
Nurfo's scheme was going to be foiled. She confided, 
"Please don't be afraid, I'm here to help you. Is there 
any safe place you can go when I get you out of here?" 

Reni asked, "Why should we believe you?" 

Lina interrupted, "What have we got to lose, Reni? I'd 
rather be dead than go on like this." She answered Sonji, 
"The Justicar was a friend of our parents. He would help 
us if we could ask him. But how can you get us out? We 
aren't allowed outside the wall." 

"Leave that to me. I'll get you out." Sonji didn't voice 
the rest of her thought, 'as soon as I figure out a way 
to do it'. 

About ten minutes later a maid appeared. She told Sonji, 
"Durna says for you to take the girls to their room and 
then go to the study." 

A short time later Sonji knocked on the study door. She 
had locked the twins in their room, but she hadn't 
strapped them to their cots. The study door opened and 
Nurfo and Durna emerged. Nurfo ordered, "Follow me, 
Lucina." 

Sonji followed him, and Durna followed Sonji. The 
procession entered the kitchen and paused while Durna lit 
a lamp at the stove. Then Nurfo unlocked a door and they 
descended a flight of stone steps into a dank cellar. 

Nurfo said, "This cellar is much older than the house; at 
least two other buildings have occupied this site." He 
pointed to a low stone coping around a seemingly 
bottomless pit. "That's an old well and it's at least 
five hundred years old; it goes down over fifty meters. 
Now I want to show you something I'm sure you'll find 
even more interesting." 

They went through another doorway and Durna lit lamps 
attached to wall brackets. Now there was enough light to 
let Sonji see a woman tied to a post near the cellar 
wall. She was naked, and had welts on her back from her 
neck to her knees. She was alive, because she moaned when 
the door was closed with a thud. Lurt, the massive 
footman, stood with his back to the closed door. 

Nurfo said, "It was careless of you to offer to help my 
wards while Durna was still close enough to hear you." He 
pointed at the post, "That is Cori, your predecessor, who 
also tried to help the girls. I've had a lot of fun with 
her, but now she needs time to recover. How fortunate 
that you are available to replace her. Durna, put Cori 
back in the cell." 

Nurfo turned to Sonji. "We don't want to spoil Cori's 
dress, so I want you to take it and everything else off. 
If you can't do it yourself Lurt will help you. Do it 
now!" 

Sonji hesitated until Nurfo gestured to Lurt; then she 
slowly removed the dress. By the time she was naked Durna 
had returned from dragging Cori to the cell. She took 
Sonji's elbow and pulled her towards the whipping post. 
Sonji spun away and then spun back and hit Durna's throat 
with the edge of her hand. Her slip was in her other hand 
and she tossed it over Nurfo's head. While his vision was 
obscured she kicked him in the groin, and when he bent 
over she delivered a double-handed blow to the back of 
his neck. 

Lurt momentarily froze with disbelief; then he roared and 
charged Sonji with his giant hands reaching out to seize 
her. She side-stepped at the last instant and tripped him 
as he went past. Before Lurt could get up she jumped on 
his back and used Glida's knife to slit his throat. He 
gurgled for a few minutes and then was still. 

Sonji checked Nurfo and Durna and was not surprised to 
find that they were dead; she would have been surprised 
if they weren't. She had spent a lot of time recently 
practicing unarmed combat, and Erig had shown her some 
deathblows that weren't in the textbooks. Still, Lurt was 
very big, and she was glad that she had the knife when 
she needed it. She cleaned off the blood on Lurt's shirt 
and resheathed it. She stopped when she realized that she 
felt none of the reaction she had when she killed Glida. 
After some thought she decided that it was partly because 
this time she had been in immediate peril, but mostly it 
was because these villains really needed killing. 

Sonji now had to clean up the mess. If it wasn't for Cori 
she would have just faded away, but Cori needed medical 
help. She looked around the cellar and noted the 
equipment, and then decided what to do. She dragged Durna 
to the old well and dropped her in. It was a lot harder, 
but she was able to drop Lurt in too. Before she dropped 
him she tore off his clothes and used the rags to mop up 
the blood as best she could. 

She had decided to make it appear that Nurfo, overcome 
with remorse over what he had done to Cori, had committed 
suicide. She tied a noose around his neck and a loop in 
the other end of the rope. She lifted Nurfo in a 
fireman's carry and used a crate, a low stool, and a high 
stool to climb high enough to put the loop over a hook in 
the ceiling. When she let him go his feet just brushed 
the floor. She kicked over the high stool and put the 
others against the wall. 

Sonji put her clothes back on and climbed the cellar 
steps. She paused on the stairs to listen, but she didn't 
hear anybody in the kitchen so she climbed out of the 
cellar and closed the door. She waited in the library 
until she heard the cook arrive to start preparing the 
evening meal. 

A few minutes later she entered the kitchen and asked the 
cook, "Can you tell me how to get to the cellar? Mr. 
Nurfo asked me to meet him there." 

"Well, Miss, that's the door over there, but it's kept 
locked." 

"It's open now, and I can see a light down there. Mr. 
Nurfo? Are you there?" Sonji descended the steps until 
she could see Nurfo's body; then she screamed and ran 
back into the kitchen. "Mr. Nufro is hanging down there! 
Help, somebody!" 

Sonji shrieked and screamed until a crowd gathered. The 
butler and two footmen went down and hurriedly returned, 
gray-faced. The butler said, "He's dead, all right. And 
Cori was down there too, badly hurt." The footmen had 
carried Cori up the stairs and into the kitchen. 

Sonji took charge. She braced the butler and asked, "Can 
you find the Justicar and a doctor?" When he nodded she 
ordered, "Take the carriage and get them at once. You 
two, find a bed for Cori and cover her up." The footmen 
carried the naked woman out of the kitchen. 

Sonji climbed upstairs to the twins' room and unlocked 
the door. "Nurfo's dead. I've sent for the Justicar." She 
watched the twins' faces register fear, then disbelief, 
and then joy. They hugged each other, laughing and 
crying. Sonji went back downstairs. She left the twins' 
door open. 

Sonji told the Justicar that she had confronted Nurfo 
with her belief that Cori would not have voluntarily left 
her clothes behind, and he had told her to meet him in 
the cellar in an hour. He had seemed to be upset. The 
Justicar accepted this; the twins had told him of their 
ordeal and he felt Nurfo had got what he deserved. 
Everyone assumed that Durna and Lurt had fled to avoid 
arrest. 

It was after midnight before the house had quieted down 
enough to let Sonji slip outside. Yesterday she had 
located the woodpile and found a wheelbarrow and a ball 
of string in a gardener's shed. Now she loaded the barrow 
and wheeled the large load of wood out of a postern gate 
in the wall and down a lane until she reached a fallow 
field a kilometer or so from the house. She had an oil 
lamp, and it gave barely enough light to let her locate 
the fire positions. 

Once the four fires were burning she watched the place in 
the sky where she knew the ship was in orbit. It took a 
while, but finally she saw a streak of light; it looked 
like a meteor, but she knew it was a flare. She 
extinguished one fire; and was rewarded by two more 
flares. She put out another fire and saw three flares. 
She put out the last two fires and waited for the 
shuttle. Two hours later she was back on the ship. 

* * * 

At sunrise officials woke up all of the Bridal parties 
and told them to prepare for the contest. There was a 
flurry of activity as the Attendants went off to collect 
the morning meal and the officials had each Guard remove 
the chains from her Bride. For most this was easily done, 
but in a few cases they wouldn't release and a smith had 
to cut them off. 

After a while the officials moved everybody along to the 
Tabernacle. The temple was built in the shape of a hollow 
square, and the Tabernacle was a separate building, 
located in the center of this square. It was another 
large building, with the long sides built as two rows of 
stone columns, thirty meters apart and twenty meters 
tall. The roof was supported by massive triangular wooden 
trusses that spanned the space between the two rows of 
columns. The curtain walls between the columns were stone 
at the bottom, but the top five meters were windows made 
of milky glass. When sunlight hit the windows the 
interior of the Tabernacle was brilliantly lit. 

Everyone was herded onto a raised stage at one end of the 
Tabernacle and a priest addressed the milling crowd. 
"Listen, everybody! The Attendants are dismissed. You can 
leave the temple, but if you want to watch the contest 
you can sit in the balcony at the other end of the 
Tabernacle." 

He waited until the Attendants had left and the crowd had 
calmed back down. "Now when I call the name of your 
district get in line. Each Guard will get a number cloth; 
tie the string around your neck so the number is on your 
back, and make sure it's right-side out." There was 
another period of chaos until the officials had all 167 
contestants lined up in the proper order, in a line that 
doubled back and forth across the stage. 

"There is an extension of the stage built half-way down 
the center of the Tabernacle. The contestants will walk 
out on the right side and back on the left side. The 
Guard will hold the contestant's left elbow so the 
contestant is always on the outside. Is there anyone who 
doesn't understand that? Nobody? Amazing! Who said brains 
and beauty don't go together?" 

"Contestants, I want you to walk slowly, with your chin 
up and your back straight. The High Priests are seated 
around the circular end of the extension, and since they 
do the judging that's when you want to look your best. 
And remember, most of you contestants will be here for 
three years, and if you screw up now a lot of that time 
will be spent working in the punishment room. Any Guard 
who screws up will be executed right after the 
sacrifice." 

"The contest has several phases, and most of the 
contestants will be eliminated at each stage. Guards, if 
your contestant is eliminated take her immediately to the 
Sun Priestess room. As soon as she is chained in a 
cubicle you can leave the temple. Those of you who aren't 
eliminated will parade again until we have the six 
finalists." 

The priest waited until it was quiet and then said with a 
smirk, "One more thing. All of the contestants have to be 
naked, so take off your gowns." There were cries of 
dismay, but eventually all of the contestants were bare. 

"Contestants, put your arms behind your back so your 
fingers touch the opposite elbow. Everyone done that? 
Next, you Guards each take a strap from one of the boxes 
held by the officials, and buckle it around your 
contestant's wrists. Make it tight, because it will be 
checked." There were more cries of dismay, this time 
mingling with groans of pain. "Don't whine, contestants, 
that's not so bad. And see how it makes your tits look 
bigger. It might hurt a little, but you've got to suffer 
for your art." 

All this time the invited guests had been filling the 
Tabernacle. Gongs crashed as the High Priests entered. 
There was a rumble of feet as the audience stood and 
bowed. When the High Priests were on their thrones the 
audience could sit, and the contest began. Each 
contestant just walked out and back, but it was still 
almost an hour and a half before the last contestant had 
paraded. As each contestant left the stage she went to 
the back of the line, so it formed an endless loop. 

Everyone stood in place as the High Priests' score sheets 
were tallied. Finally, the sixty three contestants for 
the next round were announced and the losers were taken 
away by their Guards. Many looked forward to being 
chained in a cubicle, if it meant they could have their 
arms back. 

The next round of judging took an hour, and then the six 
finalists were announced. Zoe was one of the six. 

The finalists waited backstage until the High Priests 
left and the guests had filed out of the Tabernacle. Then 
they and their Guards were taken up a stairway and out 
onto a wooden platform built over the north end of the 
Tabernacle. The Tabernacle roof was steeply pitched and 
covered with wooden shingles, and the platform, about ten 
meters square, was perched above it. 

The mirror was in the center of the platform. It's 
structure was a complex wooden latticework that supported 
the silver squares that reflected and concentrated the 
sunlight. The reflective side was facing down now, but 
the mirror could be rotated around its long east-west 
axis; bearings were mounted at the top of a pair of 
vertical timbers. Spoked wheels were attached to the ends 
of the mirror's trunnions on the outside of the bearings. 

At the north end of the platform was a raised box that 
held the five thrones for the High Priests. At the south 
end were two vertical posts, two meters tall and spaced 
two meters apart, with bronze rings at the top and 
bottom. This was where the Bride would be tied when she 
was sacrificed. 

The six finalists and their Guards were lined up across 
the south end of the platform, facing the mirror. Erig 
took a casual but close look at the back of the mirror. 

Before the start of the lottery that would choose the 
Bride the priest took Erig aside and whispered, "I don't 
have your exemption payment." 

"What's an exemption payment?" 

"It's the payment that keeps your contestant from being 
chosen as the Bride. Isn't she a professional contestant? 
The exemption payment is provided by the district that 
hires her; otherwise, who'd take the job if there was a 
one-in-six chance of dying?" 

"She's not a professional. But what if all six finalists 
make payments?" 

"Then the one that paid the smallest amount is chosen, of 
course." The priest smirked, "Good luck in the lottery." 
He joined a group of priests clustered around the 
stairway. Erig had disliked him before; now she hated 
him. 

Gongs clashed, and the High Priests entered their box and 
sat on the thrones. They were accompanied by ten temple 
guards armed with crossbows. The priest stepped in front 
of the box, bowed, and then announced the result of the 
'lottery': Zoe was the Bride. 

Four priests immediately took her to the posts, 
unstrapped her arms, and tied her wrists and ankles to 
the bronze rings. They did this so quickly that they had 
obviously practiced it. The priests formed into pairs, 
and while one priest held Zoe's forearm in place the 
other took thin rope, doubled it, and formed a loop that 
he put around her wrist. Then the ends of the rope were 
threaded through the bronze ring, separated, and tied 
together on the opposite side of the post. The priests 
had pulled in unison; Zoe was tightly stretched and 
centered between the posts. Next they tied her ankles the 
same way. When they separated her legs the tension on 
Zoe's arms increased and she couldn't move at all. 

The other contestants and Guards, including Erig, moved 
to the sides of the platform. The pairs of priests each 
took hold of one of the wheels that rotated the mirror. 
Another priest watched a sundial; he would signal when it 
was exactly noon. 

Zoe was surprised that she wasn't afraid; she had 
accepted that she was going to die and there was nothing 
that could be done. Even if Erig wanted to help she 
couldn't; two of the temple guards were pointing their 
crossbows at her, and at this range the bronze armor 
would be easily penetrated. She knew that the last few 
minutes of her life were going to be very painful, but 
she resolved that she wasn't going to give these 
barbarians the satisfaction of hearing her scream. 

The priest at the sundial raised his arm. The four 
priests turned the wheels, and the mirror started to 
rotate. The motion was detected by the fuzes connected to 
the concealed explosives that Erig had placed on the 
mirror during her tour. The trunnions were blown apart 
and the mirror crashed down onto the platform. The shock 
set off smoke bombs and the platform was engulfed in 
white smoke. 

The shock also set off five small explosive charges 
attached to the thrones; these blew messy holes through 
the High Priests. Erig really disliked men who used women 
as human sacrifices. 

Erig leaped to the posts and cut Zoe loose. She pulled a 
red gown out from under her armor and said, "Put this on. 
We've got to get out of here before the place burns 
down." 

Zoe protested, "There's no fire, those are just smoke 
bombs." 

Erig set the timer on an incendiary device and put it on 
the roof under the platform. "There's going to be a very 
big fire in three minutes. Move!" 

Everyone else thought there already was a fire and they 
crowded around the stairway. Erig noticed the lottery 
priest was at the back of the crowd; she punched him in 
the kidney and pitched him over the platform railing. He 
slid down the shingles and off the roof. The crowd had 
sorted itself out and people were running down the 
stairs. Erig yelled fire and others echoed it. Soon 
people in the temple picked up the alarm and joined the 
exodus. Erig and Zoe were swept outside; Mahoon was 
waiting with a carriage and they drove out into the 
country. 

Zoe said, "I didn't think you were going to rescue me." 

Erig replied, "You're part of the Survey Service, Zoe; we 
never abandon our comrades. You were very brave up there 
on the platform." 

"I wasn't brave; I just wasn't afraid." 

"Not everybody knows there's a difference." 

They changed into civilian clothes as they traveled, and 
after they were well out of the city they stopped at an 
inn to wait until dark. To pass the time Erig and Zoe 
related what had happened after Mahoon left them. 

Mahoon said, "You had all the fun while I had the boring 
part. But I don't understand how you managed to plant 
those explosives." 

"I did it during my tour." 

"But wasn't a priest with you all the time?" 

"Yeah, but I stunned him. He was an old guy, so I 
convinced him he had a fainting spell." 

"This adventure certainly proved that a lot more can be 
accomplished if we ignore the First Directive." 

Epilogue 

The early alarm let everyone (who wasn't already dead) 
escape from the Tabernacle before its roof collapsed. 
Bucket brigades and the absence of wind kept the fire 
from spreading to the temple, but the Tabernacle was 
totally destroyed. When the fire was finally out only a 
few broken columns stood above a pile of ashes. 

The Emperor saw his chance to get control of the Sun God 
religion. He appointed his own men as the new High 
Priests, and the temple revenues were diverted to the 
Imperial coffers. There was still a yearly contest to 
choose the Bride, but now it was held in the Imperial 
Palace and the Emperor just picked the six contestants 
that he liked the best. After a week the one that had 
pleased him the most became the Bride. The human 
sacrifice was ended; when some of the priests complained 
that this would offend the Sun God the Emperor replied 
that the Sun God was satisfied with a ritual in the 
cloudy years; now they would perform that ritual every 
year. Nobody noticed any change in the weather. 

Zoe dumped Thar and requested training at the Field 
Survey School. The other students were very impressed 
when they learned that she had already been on a survey 
with the legendary Erig and Mahoon. Zoe enjoyed using her 
brain at the school and she decided to use it more often 
in the future. 

The fires that Erig started had destroyed all evidence of 
Amalgamation interference in the local culture. The 
Survey Service gave Erig and Mahoon special commendations 
for carrying out their operations without violating the 
First Directive.

The End

Copyright (c) 2001, 2002 by Zack. All rights reserved.

I welcome your comments. Email me at 
zack_writer@hotmail.com or zack_writer@yahoo.com

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
It's okay to *READ* stories about unprotected sex with
others outside a monogamous relationship. But it isn't
okay to *HAVE* unprotected sex with people other than
a trusted partner. You only have one body per lifetime,
so take good care of it!
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Kristen's collection - Directory 19