"One Hundred Over Ten"
A Last Frontier story
By Marina Twelve and Thomas R.

100over10.jpg - 114738 Bytes

 
 

Chapter Five

     Because of the near Light Speed of the craft, The ride from "Terra Nova", the Syndicate’s name for the planet, was only eight hours, ship time, but Leslie knew that nearly a month had passed.  She could only hope that Zee and Morris were still keeping tabs on her location and condition.  In this part of the universe, a lot could happen in a month.  For all she knew, the Retribution and all on board could have met with catastrophe and she and Melissa might be entirely on their own.

     Neither Leslie nor Melissa had any weapons of any kind.  They actually WERE slave girls.  All they had left to fight with was their wits, while their anonymity and hidden "talents" would be their only advantages.

     The slaves were transferred through a spider into what Leslie recognized, by internal markings as the "Enforcer Twelve."  Captain Galvin's ship.

     Yes, Galvin was captain of one of two ships that Leslie had bluffed out some months back, when she was chasing Sanders, by threatening to blast them to atoms with her QUELL weapon. 

     Galvin wanted no part of playing such games with a weapon capable of taking out a small planet, much less his  starship.  So he abandoned Clay Sanders, AKA Konstantin, To Leslie and her own brand of "Retribution".

     She felt is odd that Galvin would be involved in such an operation.  She was surprised that Galvin was still associated with the Syndicate at all after Sanders threatened him with execution for abandoning him.  Of course, Clay never had a chance to carry out those threats or arrange a third party to do so.  Sanders was dead less than an hour later.  Leslie saw to that.

     The twenty women were herded into a large reception room for processing.  Yes, Galvin was there, looking over his new shipment of beauties.  Guiley led each maiden, one by one, to a desk, where they were fingerprinted, given a Retinal scan and a drop of blood taken for a DNA record sample, after which they were given a new name.   Galvin sat near by, personally giving each one the eye, as if to second guess Guiley on his choices.

     Leslie leaned over to Melissa and whispered, "What are we going to do? They are taking DNA samples."

     "Don't worry Leslie, It must be for their own records.  Our value is significantly based upon the fact that our DNA is supposedly not in the Terran Central system---They wouldn't dare run a DNA screen on us."

    "I hope you are right."

    Soon Guiley grabbed Leslie by the arm and led her to the table.   She once again resumed her act of a confused and frightened young woman. A drop of blood was taken, her right thumbprint scanned, and an interpreter told her to look into the optical device for a Retinal Scan.  Galvin had been momentarily distracted and turned to look at Leslie before her processing was finished.

    Leslie knew not to make eye contact, and pretended to be afraid of the scanning machine.  From the corner of her eye she could see Galvin's own eyes grow wide.

     "Guiley! You GOD DAMNED IDIOT!" Shouted Captain Galvin as he drew his pistol and pointed it at Leslie. "You brought Leslie Webber aboard my ship!"

     All Leslie could do was play dumb and ignorant.

     To Both Leslie's and Galvin's surprise, Guiley began to laugh.

     "I knew that I would get you, Galvin old boy!" Said Guiley as he finally managed to catch his breath. "This girl's no more Leslie Webber than I am."

     "How do you know that?"  Galvin was still not laughing.

     "All of these girls come from Terra Nova, I picked them up there myself.  Not Ten Terrans know the planet even exists, and I assure you that Webber is not one of them.  And even I do not know exactly where it is located, the REPs see to that.  These girls don't even speak English. Besides, all of these ladies are VIRGINS.  We all know that Leslie is anything BUT a virgin."

    "Are you sure?"

   

    "Positive! They were all checked out before we left Terra Nova.  I am no fool."

    "You know that there are medical procedures. . ."

    "Tera Novan medical skills, such as they are do not include hymeneal reconstruction, If that is what you are getting at.  A virgin from Terra Nova can only be the genuine article."

     Galvin put his gun away and walked up closer to Leslie.

     He placed his hand on her trembling chin and turned her face towards his.

     "One has to admit that the resemblance is indeed remarkable." He said with an mischievous smile. "This may be something we can use to our advantage."

     "Against Webber" asked Guiley.

     "Perhaps, but I was thinking more about the competition for the chairmanship of the Syndicate.  What it could be made to look like they were working with Webber?"

     "Trators?"

     "Yes, AND Yes. The chairman's position on the Syndicate Council would be mine for the asking."

     "Oh, By the way " Guiley interrupted. "The REP's Half Mutes say that they will deliver the other twenty slaves as soon as they are able to examine the Jumpship."

     "Tell them that we Are going to jump to Terran Space and rendezvous with Miller at a prearranged meeting site." Galvin replied. "We will pick up the ship there and deliver it back here.  We expect to see the remaining twenty women when we return."

     "Miller?"  Leslie said to herself.  She had overheard every word of Galvin's conversation.  "Yes, Admiral Miller."  Leslie had always figured that he was on the Syndicate's payoff list, but never could confirm it---until NOW.

       It was Miller, over a year ago, that issued the order, attempting to divert Leslie from her assignment to escort a transport carrying a load of refined platinum.  That was just prior to the ambush and Leslie's subsequent "conversion" at the hands of "Konstantin".

     Whether Miller actually had a hand in the ambush itself was uncertain. For all Leslie knew, he might of been trying to get Leslie away from it.  Unless, of course, the order was a bit of reverse psychology on his part, to lure Leslie into the trap.

     The only reason that Miller was still alive today was that Leslie was unsure of his role in the incident.  If it actually turns out that he DID play a part . . .

    "Let’s name her "Leslie"." Galvin said with a smile.  Guiley saw the humor in Galvin’s suggestion and chuckled.  He directed the operator to enter her name as Leslie.

***************

     The women, including Leslie, were ushered down a passageway and to a suite of rooms, humorously referred to as "the Harem".  This area of the ship consisted of a central hallway, with several small rooms, containing bunk beds to either side.  It terminated, at the end with a larger room, a sort of "lounge" big enough to accommodate twenty or thirty people. Here the women could take their meals or be assembled to receive their instructions.

    The women were assigned beds in the smaller rooms, but had the freedom to move about as they pleased in the entire "Harem area."  A guard was posted outside the doorway at the beginning of the hall---Not to keep the ladies inside so much as to keep "wayward" members of the crew out.  

     A big com screen on the wall of the "lounge" continually flashed images from the various cameras pointed out into space.  As the Enforcer ships had no windows, this was the only means of seeing what was going on outside the ship.  The "show" would also be interrupted from time to time for "public address" announcements and regularly scheduled status reports. None of the "programming" was for the benefit of the women.  It was only the default mode of the ship wide com screen system.

      The ladies from "Terra Nova" had never seen such "magic" and were fascinated by the imagery.  Watching it seemed to keep them quiet, so the screen was left on.  Leslie and Melissa also pretended to be enthralled by the device, but were paying much closer attention than their captors suspected.

    Leslie arranged for Melissa to be bunked in the same room as herself.  She simply convinced her Terra Novan roommate to move to what had been Melissa’s originally assigned room.

       The only person resembling a "guard" in the harem was the "Interpreter", a woman of about forty years old that had accompanied them on the journey from the planet. Her job, primarily, seemed to be to translate instructions from Syndicate personnel to the ladies. She also had the dual task of comforting the more frightened members of the harem and making sure that all of the women followed orders. She was by no means a sympathetic individual.  Leslie assessed that she was "Syndicate" through and through.  The lady would have to be "dealt with" when "show time" finally began.

****************

    A few hours later, Enforcer Twelve was back in Terran Space.  Parked nearby, was the Cruiser,  TSCS Hermes.  Leslie could see it on the Com-Screen in her quarters.  A spider from each ship reached out, and "joined hands" as it were, providing a tunnel connection between the ships.

     Even though The Enforcer Twelve was technically a civilian ship, Galvin piped Admiral Miller, a well built, white haired man about sixty five years of age, aboard in a semi formal, impromptu Ceremony.

 

     The Virgins were assembled in a group near the reception committee.  Galvin wanted to show Miller what the ship he was turning over to the REPs was being paid for with.

     "Girls?  You are trading the ships for GIRLS?"  The old man chided Gavin.

     "Not just girls, Admiral, Slaves! Virgins!  They were born and raised outside of Terran Confederation jurisdiction.  That means that their DNA identification does not appear on ANY Terran database.  They are UNTRACEABLE, Non-Entities.  Do you know how much even one of them could bring on the open market?  A LOT more than you make a Year Admiral.  And there's twenty more where these came from, as soon as we deliver the Hermes to our 'scaly friends'."

     "The Admiral seemed to soften up a bit.  He perused the pretty faces of the women.  Suddenly his continence dropped as he saw Leslie's face."

     Even though Leslie had her hair up in a ponytail atop her head and her lips painted an uncharacteristic bright red, Miller was still able to recognize her. 

     He turned to Gavlin.  "Don't look," Miller said, "But one of your "Girls" is Webber."

     "You don’t say?" said Galvin in mock ignorance.

     "Listen you BONEHEAD, I don't know how she's done it, but Webber has infiltrated your little flock of virgins.  I know that face all too well. If you value your life, send at least two guards over there and shoot her on the spot NOW!     You don't know what she is capable of.  We could all wake up dead tomorrow morning."

     Galvin began to laugh.  "Don't worry Admiral, Guiely personally selected the girl on Terra Nova.  We thought that we could have some fun with her.  She's no more related to Webber than I am.  She looks JUST like that Webber bitch, though, doesn’t she?"

     "Shit! She scared me out of then years growth."

     "Sorry Admiral Miller.  We couldn’t resist . . ."

     "I don't think that it is funny at all!  I still have nightmares about that Webber woman.  You know what she did to Sanders?  She gut shot him and then burnt him alive.  If she finds out even suspects or that I was involved in setting up that ambush of the Proteus, I can only hope that she treats me as well."

     Unfortunately for Miller, Leslie had overheard every word he said.  Yes, she HAD pumped six ten-millimeter projectiles into Sanders's gut.  Miller was wrong about her setting the man on fire though.  A portion of the burning ceiling of his telemetry room had fell on him as he was wallowing about in puddles of his own blood.  But Leslie was not concerned, if such rumors enhance her image in the minds of her enemies, so much the better.

     Gavin looked at the Admiral's worried face.  "Hey it was only a little joke. Let me make it up to you. Would you like to spend the night with her?"

    "Are you serious?"

    "Yes, It could be good Therapy. You said that you were having nightmares.  What better way to allay your fears than to face the subject of your anxieties head on?   Despite what you think of Webber , she IS a looker.  And OUR version is a lot more submissive."

     Galvin signaled one of his men to fetch Leslie.  He grasped her by the arm and brought her over to the two men.

     Miller put his hand on the trembling girl's chin and turned her head to one side and then the other.  He liked what he saw.

     "What about the devaluation factor?, he asked. "If she isn't a virgin any more she won't fetch half as much on the market."

     "Just think of it as the value of my little gift to you.  Besides, her real value resides in her appearance.  She is more valuable to me, for her resemblance to Webber than she is as a virgin.  Enjoy yourself."

**********************

     Yes, It was true that Leslie actually wanted to have a little "party" with the Admiral, but not under these conditions, and not so soon.  It wasn’t time to make her move yet.  Besides, she had nothing to defend herself with and would be at his mercy. She would have to think of something fast, or hope for the best. 

     Leslie was brought to a "preparation room" by the "Interpreter woman". "Here, make yourself pretty.  A very important man wants to see you," said the woman in Remonian.

     Leslie was left to her own devices.  What was she going to do?  Unless she could find some sort of a weapon, she was "fucked"--- quite literally.  She had already endured one rape and that was enough.  But what could she do?  She still had to maintain her act or all would be lost.

     She could not waste time, they were waiting for her.  She carefully applied the makeup.  After that was done she began to brush her hair.  She opened a chest and found some hairpieces, barrettes and combs.  Suddenly she saw her salvation.  Hair pins!

       Not just any hairpins, but the long, elaborate exotic type, favored by Oriental women.  They were at least twelve inches long and looked like thin, steel knitting needles. They also were a fair approximation of her shives. If she could only smuggle one of these beauties into the bedroom with her, Admiral Miller would be history.

    But she would be frisked for weapons.  Even worse, if she were found with anything resembling a weapon hidden on her, 'the jig would be up'.  They would know that she was the real Leslie Webber.  Never mind how she managed to get herself included into the virgin shipment.

    Then she had an inspiration.  "Why not conceal them in plain sight?"  She could wear them in her hair, just as they were designed to be used.  If only she could create a sophisticated hairdo on her own.  A BUN!, yes, she could manage that, Adrienne had taught her. "Now how to make the potentially lethal nature of the pins less obvious?"

       She saw some beads.  "Yes!"  She strung a few of the colorful glass beads along the shafts.  The heads of the pins kept them from sliding off.  Next she ran the three decorated pins into her hair bun, one into the center and one at an angle on each side. 

    The effect was quite decorative and gave her an exotic look, quite suitable and appropriate for a woman from an obscure, primitive planet.

    Leslie was quite proud of her accomplishment.  She next put on an almost transparent white gown and then called to be released from the room.

    The interpreter complemented her on her looks and then led her to one of the staterooms.

    "Do what the man says, my dear.  Please do not disappoint us." the interpreter said to her.

    It was not long until the door opened once again.  This time it was Admiral Miller.  "Hello my lovely", he said.

    "You must excuse me, but I am almost as nervous as I can see that you are."

    Leslie continued her act.  She cocked her head to one side in wonderment.  She appeared not to understand what he was saying.

     "Go ahead, undress!"

     Leslie just stared and smiled.

     "Undress!"  The man repeated,  and then motioned with with is hands what she was to do.

      "OHHHH" Leslie uttered and nodded her head, as she appeared to understand.  She slipped off her gown.

     Admiral Miller, meanwhile, stepped out of his trousers and removed his coat.  His shirt came off next, and finally, his briefs.  He crawled under the sheets of the bed and motioned Leslie to join him.

    Leslie finished undressing.  She slowly and deliberately removed the pins from her hair, one by one.  And let her long, red-blonde hair fall across her shoulders.

    She left the pins, two of them, on the dresser.  The third she held palmed in her hand, turned away from the Admiral.  The extra length hidden behind her arm.

   She crawled into the bed.  The Admiral grasped her shoulder and pulled her closer to his body.

    "Don't be afraid of me, I won't hurt you."  He said.

"Galvin says that it will do me good to sleep with you.  I can only hope that you too will enjoy the experience."

    Miller drew her closer.  "I know that you don't understand a word I am saying, my dear. . . you know, I have nightmares about a girl who looks like you.  But I also have dreamed about going to bed with a beautiful woman such as your self."

    " You know, its funny, I should be nervous, because you represent not only my fondest dreams but my worst fears."

     "But then again, even nightmares are only dreams, aren't they."

    Leslie nestled closer to Miller, cooed  a little and then in perfect English said," And Some of those dreams have a nasty habit of coming true. Don't they, Admiral?"

     The Admiral turned as white as the sheets and his eyes  nearly bugged out of his head as he realized whom he was laying with. He opened his mouth to scream, but the sounds stuck in his throat. 

     "Sayonara, baby!" said Leslie as she drove the thin steel shaft of the pin just under his ribcage and upwards, into his chest, skewering the man's heart like a Kabob."

    She withdrew the pin and carefully wiped the thin coating of blood off it with a tissue.  The man was stone dead.  One good thing about a shive, is that unless you know what to look for, and where, it hardly leaves a mark.  They would have to autopsy the guy to discover what killed him. By the time they find out, she should be long gone.

    For now, he would be just another one of those 'unfortunate old duffers' that died of a "heart attack" while having sex.

     Admiral Miller's death was a big disappointment though.  Leslie had hoped that she could have met with him later, when she was better armed, instead of having to make do with the materials at hand.  After all, he was responsible for the deaths of nearly sixty of her crew and had delivered her and Melissa to the sadistic machinations of Konstantin.

Leslie decided to wait a few hours before "discovering" that the Admiral was dead.  That would insure that he was far beyond any hope of being placed in a stasis chamber or being "revived".  Meanwhile she could attend to other business.

       Yes, Miller WAS right about one thing, he DID deserve to be treated "as well" as she treated Clay Sanders.  The improvised shive was too quick and easy.  Watching him die with a few ten millimeter bullets in his belly would have been much more satisfying.---Speaking of bullets. . .   

    Leslie couldn’t imagine that the good Admiral would travel without a personal weapon.  She checked his suitcase, and found it.  Perfect!  A Horton and Roth, 'One hundred over Ten', automatic pistol.  Just like her own.  It even had an extra projectile clip.

     She would have to hide it though.  She could not carry it on her person.  No doubt she would be closely examined after they find Admiral Miller's body.  A Girl from Terra Nova would never know what a firearm was.  If it was found on her, she would obviously not be a girl from Terra Nova---The next conclusion would be obvious.

   But how was she going to get the weapon from the Admirals stateroom to the Harem?  There was no way she could hide it in the folds of her nearly transparent gown.  Her HAIR! It was quite thick. Perhaps she could somehow tie it up behind her head and obscure it behind her locks?---But a quick hand fitting, showed Leslie that it wouldn’t work.  The pistol was just too big.

   Leslie sat on the bed in frustration.  She now had the perfect weapon, but the time was not right.  She would be lucky to successfully explain away the Admiral’s death, but visiting his room again at a later date to retrieve the gun would be entirely out of the question. 

     Leslie’s eyes were drawn upwards above the door, to the round, target shaped air vent.  An idea began to form, unpleasant to say the least, but it seemed like the only viable solution to the dilemma. 

     She pulled a chair up to the door, stood on it, grasped the vent, and gave it a half twist. The cover came off in her hands, along with a generous amount of black sooty dust.  It looked big enough for her to crawl through and linked directly to a larger shaft, that run the length of the ship, less than two meters away.

    A faint light from a vent from the room on the other side of the hall provided enough light to navigate.  Leslie looked at her dirty hands, "This is gonna be a bitch" she thought.  She couldn’t risk getting her clothes dirty.  How could she explain that?  She would have to explore the shafts in the nude and be sure to clean up in the Admiral’s shower afterwards.

    Leslie removed her gown and pulled herself into the shaft.  She pushed the gun ahead of her.  It soon became apparent after a few feet that this was not going to get it.  Already her knees, elbows and other parts of her anatomy began to hurt as they rubbed, unprotected, on the rough metal lining of the air duct.  She needed some kind of protection or padding.

   She painfully backed out, back into the room and looked around.  On the floor lay the admiral’s bathrobe.  It fit—at least close enough, and would provide enough protection.  She could take it off and leave the dirty garment in the vent when she was finished.  Again Leslie crawled into the vent, this time taking along the three hair pins with her.  No sense in leaving other useful weapons behind, especially if they could be conceivably linked to the poor admirals demise.

    As the admirals stateroom was number C-23 Leslie could easily calculate that the harem, having numbers A-30 through A-45 was seven rooms over and two decks down.  Getting over was no problem, the large duct ran the length of the ship, and the rooms could be counted, simply by counting the vents as she crawled past them.  Getting down two decks would be another problem though.  Leslie would attempt to solve that difficulty when she came to it.

    It soon became apparent how the ducts were laid out.  The long duct that she was in actually ran parallel to another such duct on the other side of the ship.  Cross ducts connected them, like the rungs of a ladder. Leslie decided  to cut across to the other side through one of them and almost fell down a vertical shaft at its center.  She had nearly discovered the "Hard" way down.  Yes, the vertical shafts connected the ductwork on the different decks together.  All of the connecting ducts had one leading upwards and downwards.

   Leslie had found the way down, but there was no way she could climb down---at least not down and BACK UP.  She had to think about this for a minute.  "YES!" another idea had formed.  Leslie crawled as close as she could to where she estimated her quarters should be, and found the nearest cross duct.  Thank goodness she had thought about wearing some clothing.  Now it would come in handy. 

     Leslie tore several strips from the hem of the robe and tied them together.  She estimated each deck at three meters, so she made a "rope" of some seven meters in length, "just to be sure", and securely tied the gun to it.  She slipped the three hairpins into the knot along with it.  She would simply hang the weapon down the shaft in an accessible position.  Sure, this would mean a another foray into the shaft, to retrieve it, but that would come later, and from the safer area of her own quarters.

   Another problem soon became apparent.  "What was she going to hang the rope on?" 

     The insides of the ducts were smooth.---But they were thin.  Leslie pulled up the gun from out of the shaft, and removed one of the pins. 

   Whack!  WHACK!  After a couple of tries Leslie managed to puncture through the duct with the pin, leaving it in and providing something to tie the rope to.  She would only have two pins left for shives, but that was two more than she had in the Harem right now.

    Leslie crawled back to the vent leading to the stateroom and removed the robe.  It wouldn’t be missed and she wouldn’t have to explain the dirt on it.  She painfully crawled out of the duct and replaced the vent. Her next stop was the shower.  She looked like she had been crawling down a stovepipe.

    She cleaned up very well, and was none the worse for the wear, save for a few red marks on her elbows and knees.  She had only one more item of business to attend to.

     About Three in the morning, Leslie began to scream.  Her vocalizations, as expected, brought a rapid response.  Within minutes the room was crawling with paramedics, a doctor, and of course, Captain Gavlin himself.

     Leslie was in hysterics, or at least pretended to be.  "Morteu!"  Morteu!"  He's DEAD!  He's DEAD!  She repeatedly screamed in the Remonian language. 

    The interpreter tried to comfort her.  "There, there, it’s alright.  Sometimes this happens.  The man was old, his heart gave out."

    Leslie played her role to the hilt.  Even Galvin felt for her.

    She was taken back to her own room and put in bed.

    Galvin looked at his dead friend.  "Too bad, the excitement must have been too much for him."  There was one consolation.  There would be one less partner to split the profits with.

****************

    Back in the harem, Leslie briefed Commander Conner on the events of the night.  And told her where the pistol was concealed. 

     "It would be best if I retrieve it myself." Melissa replied.  If they catch YOU with the weapon, they will know who you are."

     Leslie could not argue with Melissa’s logic  She would send Melissa into the vent to retrieve the Gun and the Pins.

     Melissa also had a bit of news for her captain.  "I overheard some of the officer's say that Galvin was going to bring in a BT to do a reading on the girls.  He wants to find Terra Nova himself and not have to depend upon the REPs for his supply of slaves.  This is especially critical now as he has lost his Space Command arms supplier."

     "Oh Shit!" Leslie exclaimed. "He's getting Kora Horst!  I might be able to fool THESE doofuses, but I won't be able to deceive her.  We have to move fast."

    "Leslie, we don't know that Kora is coming here, they might be bringing in another Biotelemetrist."

     "Kora's is the best that the Syndicate has got." Leslie replied. "She is likely the ONLY BT that the Syndicate has got."

     "Do you think that she would help Galvin, the man who abandoned her husband and let you kill him?

     "Kora only wants to be in a position of influence and power.  Right now Galvin holds all of the cards in Syndicate politics.  She will hitch her star to Galvin, so she can have the same status when she was Sanders's consort.  Yes, the BT that Galvin is bringing in is Kora.  All this was likely her idea in the first place."

     "So what are we to do?"

     "We will have to play this as the situation warrants it." Said Leslie. "first you will have to retrieve the gun and we can hide it in our room."

    Leslie explained as best she could, the probable location of the gun.  Melissa, stripped down to nothing and crawled into the vent.  It would be only a few feet, so she wouldn’t need any clothing to protect her.  Being smaller and lighter, she would have a much easier time of things.

    Leslie stood guard as Melissa searched for the gun.  She seemed to be gone much too long.  Finally, there was a tap at the vent.

    "What took too you so long?"

    "The rope wasn’t long enough", I had to crawl up the duct, almost a meter.—"

    Leslie was thankful that Melissa hadn’t slipped, She would have fallen straight down into the engine room.

    "Sorry about that."

      Melissa handed the gun, with the rope wrapped around it to Leslie.  Leslie pulled out the pins and handed them to her.

     "Here, I believe that you might be able to use these."

     Melissa examined them.  "Could be a couple of inches longer, but they will do, thanks."

     Leslie replaced the vent while Melissa took her shower.  Now they were ready to strike when the time came.

**************

     Leslie and Melissa took turns keeping a eye on the com screen in the big room. About six hours later the enforcer eight appeared nearby. "It’s Akita’s ship", Leslie observed.

      It pulled up to the enforcer twelve and extended its "spider". The "Enforcer Twelve" extended it’s own spider and linked up with it.

     The Cameras to the com screen continued to switch on and off in sequence.  Leslie noticed that one of the images was from the inside of the spider arm. About the third cycle around, Leslie caught a glimpse of Akita himself shaking hands with Galvin.  This wasn’t exactly the best way so see who was getting off the ship.  The view inside the spider only rolled around every fifty seconds or so.  Several people could pass in and out of the range of the camera in the interim. 

     "Was Kora on the Enforcer Eight?"

     "Did she transfer to the Twelve?"

     Leslie saw nothing to answer those questions.  Perhaps Kora was on another ship yet to arrive?---but then again she could have been missed by the camera and was already aboard.  Then she saw something.  Guiley was talking to a woman in the Reception room. Leslie could only see her from the back but noticed the red-blonde hair not unlike her own.  She wore a skin tight "designer type" pressure suit, with a multicolored diamond pattern on it. "Could she be Kora?" Before the woman could turn around, the screen switched to a different camera.

     The reception room was empty, the next time its camera image was displayed.  The woman appeared once again on another camera.  This time she was talking animatedly with Guiley as they walked together down a passageway.  She stepped out of a shadow.  Leslie was shaken by her appearance.  It was like looking into her own makeup mirror.  She could not be anyone other than Kora Horst herself.  

       Yes, the hair was a bit shorter and brushed straighter, and the lady wore more makeup than Leslie was comfortable with, but otherwise they looked IDENTICAL.  Yes, Leslie had seen Kora in a "vision" some months back, but it didn’t have near the impact of seeing her actual image on the com screen.  What’s more, even though she appeared on the camera only for a few seconds, it was long enough to see, from their surroundings, that both Kora and Guiley were in the passageway that leads to the harem.

    Leslie ran to her quarters and informed Melissa of the situation.

"I have an advantage in the fact that my face isn’t as well known as yours, Leslie." Melissa replied.  "I will keep some distance away and neutralize any threats to you as you take on your primary adversaries. Any guards will be watching you and not me.  Perhaps I might be able to grab one of their weapons."

     Leslie ran to her room and retrieved the pistol.  She Kept it in her hand under a fold of her clothing.  She would need it quick, as soon as Kora got a good look or-- "feel" of her.

    The passageway door opened.  The guards let Kora and Guiley pass and closed up the passageway once again behind them.

    They ignored Melissa as she walked past them.  They spotted Leslie several meters away. 

    "There’s the one I was telling you about, Ms. Horst" remarked Guiley. As he pointed out Leslie. "She’s a dead ringer for Webber, and possibly for yourself.  Galvin thinks that she might be of some use to us."

     Kora smiled as the pair approached Leslie.  Melissa turned and began to follow.  Her eyes were on Guiley’s sidearm, as soon as he was distracted she would make her move.

    Kora seemed just as deceived as everyone else, as to Leslie’s true identity.---But suddenly, her look of amusement snapped into one of shock.  

     "GUILEY YOU FOOL! What have you and Galvin done?" shouted Kora. "She’s the genuine article!"

    "No Kora, That’s impossible! I . . .

     Kora made a snatch for Guiley’s weapon.  Guiley instinctively moved his hand to block her own---Catching Melissa, just in time, as she too made a grab for the gun.

    "What’s this?" Guiley asked as he held Melissa’s wrist tightly in his grip.

    Leslie whipped out the admiral’s weapon and pointed it at Kora’s head.

     "Hands up, Guiley!" said Leslie in perfect English, or Kora gets it.  For a second Guiley’s jaw nearly dropped on the floor, but he assessed the situation surprisingly fast.

     Guiley grabbed Melissa around the neck with his left arm and pulled her close to his body as a shield.  He drew his own pistol and held it up to her temple with his other hand.

    "Not exactly a Mexican standoff is it, Webber?  You might not hit Kora at that range, but I CAN’T miss your accomplice here.

     "Alright Webber, Hand over the gun to Kora now or the little lady gets it." He snarled.

     Leslie hesitated and began to hand the gun to the smirking woman standing beside her.

     "Don’t Leslie."  Said Melissa.  "I have the situation well in HAND."

     Leslie hesitated a second and then noted the glint of steel protruding just beneath the fingertips of Melissa’s right hand. 

     She moved the gun away from Kora’s grasp.

     "I warned you . . ." Guiley began to say---

     WHACK! Totally unexpectedly, Melissa had had quickly thrust her right hand over her shoulder, drove the steel shaft backwards and buried, almost four inches of it---- directly into Guiley’s right eye!

    YEEEEEEAHHHHHH! Guiley let out a blood curdling scream that sounded almost like a woman, as he immediately dropped his gun.  Simultaneously, Melissa kicked out his weight bearing leg out from under him, and spun around on one foot to avoid his falling body.

     How she was able to produce the second pin so quickly, Leslie didn’t know.

     WHACK! Melissa managed to ram the full length of it into his back, just to the left of the spine, with both hands, before the man hit the floor.

     It happened so fast, both Leslie and Kora were taken by surprise.  Needless to say, Guiley was beyond ever being surprised again.

     The visage was even more gruesome, owing to the fact that Melissa had not displayed the slightest bit of emotion throughout the process.  Leslie knew that Melissa was capable of killing if she had to. Indeed, it was Melessa who had taught Leslie how to use a shive, but this was something else again. It was the first time Leslie had seen the "Master" in action.  She had done it with an ease and a viciousness that left both Leslie and Kora in near shock.

    The interpreter did not need to be dealt with. She fainted dead away.  The Terra Nova girls were, however, made of sterner stuff.  They had been raised watching gladiatorial combat in the arenas for amusement.  It would have been hard to faze them.  Several of them actually laughed.

     Kora recovered her composure first and made a grab for Leslie’s gun.  She managed to grasp Leslie’s right wrist, and a handful of her hair with the other hand. 

     For a moment, Leslie’s father’s words, "A man never hits a woman" ran through Leslie’s mind.  But then again, she thought, SHE wasn’t a MAN anymore, was she?

     Leslie delivered a hard left uppercut to Kora’s chin that immediately "put her lights out."

    "You let yourself get soft Kora."  Leslie remarked as the woman fell to the floor.

     Melissa ran up to "help", but fortunately for Kora, she was already down for the count.

     "Quick, watch the door!" Leslie ordered.

      As Melissa ran down the hallway to secure the harem entry, Leslie had an inspired idea.

    She asked a couple of the other women to tie up the interpreter while she stripped off Kora’s pressure suit.  Leslie then removed her own gown and put it on Kora.  Taking some strips of cloth she firmly bound Kora’s hands and arms and gagged her.

    Kora’s pressure suit felt a little tight.  Despite identical bodies, Kora had less fat than Leslie’s muscle, but Leslie was still able to squeeze into it.

     Leslie asked one of the girls to put Kora’s hair into a ponytail, like she wore herself.  The girl was all too happy to comply.  They were not exactly the "passive chattel" that they appeared to be.  They had an idea about what was going on, despite not knowing where they were or where they were being taken.

     Leslie brushed her hair into something resembling Kora’s style---Damn! It was too long.  One of the other girls ran into the preparation room and returned with a pair of scissors.

     Leslie had promised Adrienne that she would not cut her hair any shorter, but this was an emergency.  The girl trimmed off about four inches and helped Leslie brush it into the straighter, under-turned style that Kora favored.

    Leslie finished up by slathering on an imitation of the heavy makeup that Kora always wore. In a few minutes "Kora Horst" smiled back at her from the mirror.

     Leslie had the girls drag Guiley’s body and the limp form of the interpreter to one of the nearby escape pods.  The door was opened and they were both tossed in.  Leslie then turned off its power and latched the door handle shut.

   As Leslie wiped off Kora’s makeup with a cream saturated towel, Kora began to moan as she regained consciousness.  Leslie grabbed her under her arm and pulled her to her feet.  Kora’s eyes bugged out and she screamed some incomprehensible obscenities behind her gag as she saw how Leslie had disguised herself.

     "It’s ShowTime, kiddies" Leslie said, in English, to no one in particular, as she pushed Kora down the hallway. Leslie told Melissa to step aside.

    "Its best If I go through the door first." She said.  Melissa nodded, but before stepping aside, she raked her hand across Leslie’s freshly made up face.

    "What are you DOING?!"  Lesley angrily shouted.

    "You were in a fight, remember?" Melissa replied

    "Yes, You’re right . . . sorry.

********************

     

     Leslie poked her head out of the door and confronted one of the guards.

    "Where is Galvin?" she angrily demanded in her best Kora Horst voice.

     "He is in the reception area seeing Captain Akita back to his ship." the shaken man replied.

    Leslie grabbed Kora by the arm and roughly pushed her ahead of her down the passageway.   

     "Galvin you IDIOT!" Shouted Leslie as she pushed Kora along. You nearly let this Webber bitch destroy everything we have worked for."

     Kora desperately tugged at her bonds, gave Galvin a few dirty looks with her eyes and tried to shout, but the gag kept her from being understood.

     "But she's not Webber! " Galvin protested, "Guiley selected her personally from Terra Nova."

     "Guiley is a bigger IDIOT than you are!"

      Leslie turned to the disguised Kora. "But YOU didn't count on having to face a BT, DID you Webber?  I can read your mind!  I know who you really are."

     The bound and gagged Kora Horst turned red with rage, but couldn’t make her curses understood by Galvin.

     "Shit, Kora." Said Galvin " What are we going to do with Webber?  Shoot her?"

     "No, Not yet anyway.  Open that escape pod and we will lock her in there, for now.  When this deal is all over with, THEN we will decide what to do with my bothersome clone."

    Galvin opened the pod door and Leslie threw the bound and gagged real Kora inside.  The door was swung closed and locked. Just as Leslie had done with the pod in the harem.

     "Now Galvin, will you show me to my quarters.  I have to freshen up."

    After Galvin left Leslie alone in Kora's room, she walked over to the com screen and wrote a J com to the Retribution.  They had, hopefully, contacted a Space Command cruiser within jump range by now.  In one hour the fun would begin."

     Leslie couldn't wait for an answer.  Actually she wasn't really sure that the Retribution was out there at all.  All she could do is keep her fingers crossed and hope for the best.  She would carry out her part of the plan, regardless.  She might be killed in the process, but she knew, before that, she would make sure that Galvin would never sell any more technology to the Reps again.

    Leslie joined Galvin on the bridge.  "I see you appear in better shape than the last time I saw you.  Have you been working out?"

    "Yes, I was getting a little flabby, and I wanted to look better for you.  I only hope that it doesn’t make me look more like that Webber bitch.

     "You Don't have to worry about that Kora" Galvin replied "I would never confuse you with Webber."

    "Yes, I’m Sure." Said Leslie sarcastically. " By the way, wasn’t Admiral Miller supposed to be here with us?"

     Leslie brought up the subject just for the enjoyment of seeing Galvin squirm. "Uh . . . Unfortunately Miller died last night.  UH . . . The doctor thinks it was a heart attack."

     "He looked quite the picture of health to me the last time I saw him." Replied Leslie fighting the urge to smile at Galvin's stalling.  "What was he doing?"

     "Having sex.  It's not all that uncommon for men of his age . . ."

    "Can it!, Gavlin. You left him alone with Webber didn't you? . . .  HOW could you be SO STUPID!  Sometimes I wonder why I am helping you."

     "That’s an easy one Kora, My dear, YOU know that I am going to be the next chairman of the Syndicate.  You want to retain your status in this organization too."

    Galvin leaned in closer "---You need to change your attitude, Woman. I don't take to criticism very well."

     "Yes, Galvin I apologize.  Webber's quite devious. She has fooled each of us one time or the other.  Now when do we give the Hermies to the REPs?"

    "All in good time, my dear, but first I need you to read one of the virgins, to see if we can get some cords for that planet of theirs."

     "I'll do it right here.  Bring me that short brunette, I saw, with the long braid. I think that she will be the best subject."

     Galvin sent one of his men out to fetch Melissa.  They returned a few minutes later.  Leslie looked into Melissa's eyes.  The woman nodded her head slightly.

     "Close and lock the doors to the bridge, Galvin.  We can't have anyone disturb me while I'm doing this".

     "Should I dismiss the bridge crew?"

     "No, don't bother.  Its best for them to be in here anyway."

     Galvin had no sooner secured the door, when his Telemetry officer interrupted on the com.  "Captain we have Company! A Space Command Cruiser has just jumped in two clicks off out port bow. . .  Now another, unidentified ship, has materialized to starboard."

    "What the devil?" Galvin exclaimed. "Kora, what's going on! What’s happening?

     Leslie smiled at Galvin and drew "Kora’s" pistol.  She pointed it directly at him.

    Melissa Pulled out Guiley’s 100/10 from beneath her skirts and covered the rest of the bridge crew.

    "What’s the meaning of this?" Asked Gavin.

  " It means that the Party's over boys!" said Leslie. As she pointed the gun at Galvin's head.

     "Kora? Wha . . . what are you doing?" asked Galvin, now totally confused.

     "I never claimed to be Kora, now did I?"

     "Do I have to worry about you Galvin?"

     "OH . . .  SHIT!  What?  How????"

     "I strongly recommend that you not make any sudden moves Galvin.  I am just looking for an excuse to put more holes in you than a lace curtain.  I'll start at your crotch"

    "And I recommend that YOU stay far away from the jump console." Melissa informed the helmsman.

    "Better do what she says kid," Warned Leslie. "That little girl WILL kill you in a heartbeat.  She has no inhibitions.--your former boss has seen to that."

  Leslie Turned to Galvin.  She held the gun to his head, "Don't move a muscle!", she said and took his weapon from his holster.  She pointed to the open bridge escape pod door.

     "Get in" she ordered.  Galvin meekly complied.  Leslie closed and locked the door behind him.

     Melissa, meanwhile, gathered up the sidearms and other weapons of the bridge crew, and settled down in one of the command chairs.---but still watching them closely.

    Leslie got on the ship com system.  "Attention Crew.  This is Les. . . KORA Horst.  For the duration of this crisis, Captain Galvin has put me in command of this ship. You will follow my orders unless otherwise directed by Galvin or his superior."

    "Well that settles our little command problem" said Leslie as she settled into Galvin’s chair.

    "Morris!" said Leslie over the ship to ship com link. "Enforcer Twelve is secure."

     "Roger that. How nice to hear from you again Webber." said Morris over the com link.  "I see you’ve changed your hair."

    "Yes, I thought I would try a different look.  Did you enjoy your month off?"

     "Every day of it. What kind of progress have you made with the mission?"

     "It turns out that Galvin had an agreement with Admiral Miller.  Miller would provide him with decommissioned ships to sell to the REPs.  And the Reps, as we guessed, were using the Nova Terran Virgins as currency.  Galvin and Miller would split the profits.  Galvin was going to use his half to help him secure the chairmanship of the Syndicate’s Board of directors."

     "Where are Miller and Galvin now?"

     "I have Galvin on ice, so to speak, and Miller is literally on ice.  He forced my hand."

     "Yes, I’m sure"

     "Are you ready to Jump?  Send me the cords."

     "We still have fourty five minutes left on the recharge, Webber, just got here, you know.  We will meet in the vicinity of the base at Ross 142 three.  There we will . . .

     ZAP!  Another ship jumps in. 

     "OHMYGOD! Was all Morris was able to exclaim."

     Leslie sees the ship too.  There was a "loose end" that neither one of them had bothered about until now.  It was the Jump equipped REP Battle cruiser!  Armed with at least four LX energy weapons and a crew full of hostile BT’s.

     Only Leslie’s "Enforcer 12" was capable of jumping out at the moment.  Morris couldn’t use the QUELL, The REP was too close. Both he and the Space Command cruiser would also be destroyed in the blast. Yet, Leslie could not leave her people alone to face the REP themselves.

     Still, The three roughly equivalent cruiser class ships would be no match for the Battle cruiser.

END OF PART FIVE