Minx Ep. 03: The Sphere, Cenozoic Zone

The First Mate watched as the hyperman's eyes glanced quickly around the room. Had he seen her, and how she was reacting? Had her complexion changed? She felt like a teenager.

"You can make the first move, Black Eye," offered the man in black.

The pirate captain smiled, and drew a laser pistol from the folds of his jacket. Then he dropped to his knees and gurgled. Three spectators collapsed to the floor without a sound.

The hyperman stepped forward. "So let's have a drink to celebrate the change in command," he announced. "Which of you is the First Mate?"

The red-haired woman held up her hand and stepped forward.

"Of course you are. You're just as lovely as your voice made you seem, my dear." She smiled nervously for him. His eyes examined her slowly and then he gave her an approving nod. What was this effect he was having on her, she wondered. "Is there any champagne? Wine will do in a pinch if there's none available. We can all have a quick glass, and then we're off."

"Chen! Drinks!" she called out, although her voice wavered. Her eyes had not left the hyperman, her new Captain. "What just happened?"

"He was going to cheat so I cheated first. I boarded this vessel with a dozen nanobots. I picked out which of you were going to help Black Eye win the fight, and sent off my nanobots to do my dirty work. They obey my mental commands; it's a technology that's common among the hypermen, and we also have the means to detect such microscopic robots and neutralize them. They're still flying around in this chamber, by the way."

A number of the crew eyed the door. The First Mate glowered at them. Silently, she cursed each of them for daring to show any fear in front of their new commander. She was positive that this hyperman was going to be a better man - a better Captain than any the King Midas had before. And she knew that she'd soon be sharing this Captain's bed, just as she had done with the others. She smiled involuntarily as she wondered exactly how superior a hyperman was.

XIV

Minx awoke. She took several deep, relaxing breaths and then remembered the enormous spider poised over her and opened her eyes. Moving very slowly, she tilted her head first one way and then the other until the arachnid was visible. It seemed to be resting just a couple of metres away from her.

The beast was less massive than she was, but the bounty hunter didn't trust that as an indicator of relative strength or speed. On the other hand, Minx had downed the giant reptile and the spider had cowered from it in terror. Did it know she was awake, she wondered?

"Ship," she whispered.

"Here, boss. I didn't want to awaken you just because I'd saved up enough energy to communicate. How are you doing?"

The spider lifted itself off the ground and waited.

"I think I'm okay. Were there any giant spiders," she eyed the brown armour that protected much of the creatures two main body sections, "or giant, clawless crabs in the Cenozoic Era?"

"No, at least there were no fossils of such. Are you watching one right now?"

"Yes. Although it's sort of watching me, too. I think it's been waiting for me to wake up."

"Well, spiders are predators and their bite is usually deadly for creatures of a similar size to them. How big is it?"

The spider moved forward, shuffling toward Minx very slowly.

"Wait." She sat up slowly.

The creature continued to come forward until it was within arm's reach of her. Then it stopped and reached out with a long, furry limb that ended in two, thumb-sized pincers. Minx watched the claws and a slight tremor shook her body. The claws did not look particularly sharp, but she couldn't be sure what the creature's intention was.

The spider tapped the compass that lay on the rock beside Minx. Then it drew back. The bounty hunter picked up the small disc and examined it. To her surprise, the instrument was definitely the one she had lost. She tucked it away in the tattered remains of her uniform, noticing for the first time that it was torn open across her chest and she had long scratches and dried blood upon her breasts.

"I think it wants to be friends, Ship."

"That's odd, boss. Spiders aren't particularly known for being social, or highly intelligent."

"This thing's about the size of a dog, or a sheep."

"Maybe it's an alien? I can't find anything like it in the fossil record. There were big spiders back in the Paleozoic Era, but nothing as big as you've described."

Minx stood and then faced the creature. It backed away another metre, crouching a little.

"I'm going to call you Arachne. Now where's my pouch?" Minx performed a small search of the top of the outcrop but could not find the rest of her belongings. She approached the edge and looked down at the reptile's body. She raised her eyebrows and glanced at Arachne, but the spider just seemed to be resting.

"Arachne doesn't seem in any way hostile to me, and I'm not sure why. She doesn't have any weapons or gear, but I think she's the one that left my belongings for me at the waterfall. Perhaps she's been following me for a while." Minx tucked some hair behind one of her ears. "I wonder why."

"It doesn't make any sense to me, boss." There were a couple of seconds of silence, which Minx used to begin her descent of the outcrop. "Do you mind if I rest again?"

"No. Pleasant dreams, honey."

Arachne followed Minx off the large rock and right up to the lizard's corpse. The bounty hunter recovered her pouch and belongings, and pulled her sword from the creature's side. "I hope I don't meet any of these things again."

She thought about finding some way to adjust her top to cover her breasts, and then wondered why she should bother with it. There was no-one around, and what did she care if any animals saw her boobs. Minx set off.

After several steps she stopped and turned to the spider. "Come on Arachne," she urged with a wave of her arm.

The spider rushed forward until it was beside Minx, and then the two continued on together.

XV

"Get to your stations!" roared the First Mate. Her voice echoed through the mess hall.

As the crew hurried off, she turned and wondered what she should say to her new Captain. She watched with a little embarrassment as his eyes slowly lifted from her bottom and then hesitated at her grapefruit-sized boobs.

"Nice tits," he noted. "Artificial or real?"

"Uhm..."

"Not that it really matters." Dragon looked about the room. "This place is a pig sty."

"I'll have someone clean it right away, Captain."

"You do that, First Mate." He took a few steps away and then stopped to stare at Black Eye's corpse. "Have someone discard these things out an airlock. They don't deserve a service."

"Yes, sir."

"Are you going to serve me loyally?"

"Yes, sir!" she said, with an enthusiasm that must have sounded fake to the hyperman. The First Mate shuffled from foot to foot.

"Hmm." He turned about suddenly, startling her. "Fine. Get on your knees."

There was no delay in her obedience. She waited for him to approach, ready to service him as the other Captains had liked to be serviced.

"You debase yourself easily, but you were authoritative with the crew a minute or so ago. I think you've effectively established that I can trust you, my dear."

A smile lit up her face before she could stop it. "Thank you, Captain!"

"And now you wait for a command to rise," he tapped his chin in thought. "Yes, you're quite willing to do whatever I want. Aren't you?"

"Yes, Captain." She maintained eye contact as she answered. The First Mate felt as if she was helpless before the hyperman, and to her surprise she enjoyed the situation.

Dragon leaned over and stared at her cleavage, then brought his eyes up to her face. "I'd prefer you to wear something a little more revealing in the future." He stood straight and smiled at her. "Now take me to the bridge, First Mate."

XVI

They continued on through the badlands together, sleeping atop steep-walled outcrops, and hunting whatever small animals came across their path. Smaller spiders, scorpions and snakes seemed to stay away when Arachne was near, and Minx soon found that she was able to get a good sleep whenever she wanted one. Despite her claims to Ship that she had no need for anyone Minx found the companionship comforting, even though Arachne could neither speak nor understand her words. The two simply travelled together, sharing their meals and keeping an eye out for larger predators.

As they travelled grasses became more common and the buttes grew less so, until at last the two found themselves before an immense savannah with the grasses standing roughly as tall as Minx's hip. The cover worried her, but Arachne seemed eager to proceed into it.

A look to the west by northwest showed Minx she was still heading in the correct direction. The portal did look closer, and through her binoculars she could see grey clouds raining upon the lands near it. It was the first rain she'd observed since entering the sphere and she briefly wondered where it came from and how it formed. The mechanics of devising a water cycle in a world such as this was well beyond her, so she put it out of her mind after a few seconds of speculation.

A suggestive hiss by her leg convinced her to put the binoculars away and begin moving. She followed Arachne into the grasses, watching as the spider's movement made stalks sway, wave and bend in front of her. The dry grass scratched Minx's bare legs, and tickled her stomach and breasts where the lizard had torn her uniform open. She considered using her sword like a scythe, but didn't see how she was going to cross the kilometres of grassland bent over so as to use the blade effectively.

The spider hissed at her to urge her on. Minx rolled her eyes and pushed her way through.

"Slave driver," she muttered. "Ship?"

"Yes, boss," came the reply over the communication implant.

"How are you doing?"

"Same as always, boss. Saving up energy then expending it talking to you."

"Oh, sorry."

"I'm sorry if I'm being a little bitchy. I'm bored."

"I'm travelling as fast as I can, Ship. It's a long way to the portal."

"I know. It's just that I wish I could be with you to share the dangers and keep your bacon out of the fire. Just sitting here is driving me crazy. All I have are my memories of Hephaestus to keep me sane."

"Well isn't that flattering!"

"That's not what I mean, boss! It's nice to talk to you, even if you take forever to respond just like most other organics. I mean...oh, I can't explain it!" Minx could hear the frustration in her vessel's voice.

"You want to be with him, and your memories of being with him are all that you've really got until the next time the two of you are together?"

"You do get it! And you really mean it? He and I will be together again?"

Minx sighed. "I suppose so."

"It just seems like forever," groaned Ship. "How do you not think about Dragon all the time?"

"I just don't. I don't need him."

"That's beginning to sound like you've been programmed to believe that, boss. Remember that I know the truth. I know how your knees get wobbly and your pussy gets sopping wet when he..."

"Ship!" Minx took a deep breath and then collected herself. "Ship, why don't you rest a little more?"

"Okay, boss. I'm just going to replay some of my memories of Hephaestus thrusting his supply nozzles into my intakes until I drift off. Mmmm."

As they walked, Minx occasionally lost sight of her arachnid friend. Arachne would always return soon enough, but the bounty hunter thought this seemed very much like going for a walk with an unleashed dog or a small child. As the two grew tired they found a suitable tree and climbed up into it. Arachne needed some help, but Minx was strong enough to lift her.

Once they were rested Minx ate some of her leftover fire-roasted lizard while Arachne mouthed and sucked on her portion of raw lizard. Then they climbed down the tree and resumed their journey. This continued across the savannah like this for a few weeks. Hunting duties were shared when they ran out of badlands lizard, and both proved capable hunters of small prey.

It was on one of these hunting expeditions that Minx followed the sound of an animal through the grasses, until pushing aside the stalks she came face to face with a very large bird seated upon the ground. Minx released the vegetation and started to back away. The bird rose to its feet. Its legs were hidden from view but the rest of it was visible above the grass. It had a large, black body, and was easily twice the size of Minx. There was a thick neck as long as the bounty hunter was tall, and it was topped by an evil-looking head crowned with blue and black feathers. The bird's beak was as long as Minx's arm and resembled an eagle's.

As she slowly backed away, she could see that this thing was a predator and it was eying her carefully and perhaps greedily. Its body swelled a bit and then it let loose with an ear-shattering scream.

Minx pulled out her laser pistol and sword. In a blink of an eye she had the pistol aimed for the terrible bird's head. The creature ducked and lunged at the woman far faster than she had thought possible. She squeezed the trigger and a red beam singed the side of the beast's face. The head darted forward and the beak closed on Minx's forearm. She squeezed the trigger again. The bird reared back, yanking the bounty hunter off the ground painfully. She was thrown to the left and then the right. The pressure on her wrist was so intense that the pistol slipped from her fingers. Expecting to feel the beak slice through her forearm at any second, she shoved the sword into an opening between the upper and lower mandible, heedless of what the blade might do to her hand and arm.

The bird squawked angrily, opening its beak wide. Minx dropped to the ground and cradled her bloody hand. From the grasses, one of the bird's claws lashed out at her, its talons raking the air in the very place where she had crouched a millisecond before. She swung her sword in a wide arc and only succeeded in severing a few dozen stalks.

Then the beast lunged down with its beak a second time and then suddenly reared back. It twisted and then turned. Arachne had somehow leapt upon its back. She had two arms upon the bird's muscular neck and was trying to plunge her fangs into the beast's back.

Minx dashed in and thrust her sword into the bird's throat. Blood sprayed out. She stabbed a second and third time, and then ducked as the open beak came at her, narrowly missing her head. The spider was struggling to help the bounty hunter but was clearly outmatched by the bird.

The feathered beast opened its puny wings and leapt into the air. Arachne hung on as best she could. On the second attempt, the spider was thrown from its perch. The bird whirled about and prepared to attack its downed opponent when Minx rushed in again. She threw herself upon the bird's back and wrapped an arm around its muscular throat.

The bird repeated its leaping and twisting to dislodge this new rider, but Minx held on. Knowing it was just a matter of time before she did lose her grip, the bounty hunter tightly wrapped her legs around the bird's neck. She grabbed the pommel of her sword in both hands and swung as hard as she could at the back of the creature's head.

The beast collapsed and Minx was thrown, and then surprised by her relatively comfortable landing on the yielding grass. While the bird thrashed, spraying blood everywhere, Minx lay and caught her breath. Arachne came over to her and crouched down beside her. The spider gently placed a claw upon Minx's leg and patted it.

"Well, now we have chicken for the next few days."

XVII

Dragon did not like the look of this vessel, nor did he much like the look of the crew. Both were dirty, both were not well maintained, and both showed distressing signs of low intelligence.

The First Mate noticed his frown and she angrily chastised the crew, swearing and yelling at them until every one of them cowered at their workstation on the bridge. She had been desperate to please her new captain since he'd taken over. Dragon had let his pheromones run wild, and had watched with curiosity and a cold detachment as each of the female pirates had tried to attract his attention. In the end the First Mate had chased the others away, sometimes not very subtly.

She was pretty enough, with her red hair and narrow waist. There was a hardness about her that Dragon found interesting, but there was a softness that was in her eyes whenever she looked at him. The hardness was very familiar to him as all hyperwomen shared that trait; the softness was not something that Dragon's female counterparts had in common with the First Mate. In all his life only one woman had managed to combine that inner strength, or toughness, with an enticing vulnerability, and she had turned away from him.

Dragon wondered exactly how yielding the First Mate would be, and exactly how dangerous.

Today the woman wore tight black pants and a loose fitting black top open to her belly button. The silver laser pistol on her hip added a little contrast to her clothing. Dragon found the black clothing on the First Mate made her skin seem more pale than when he had first seen her. She stood a short distance away from him, glancing from him to the crew and then back. He also had determined that her choice of clothing colours matched his own and was meant to imply a strong link between the two of them, at least to the other pirates.

"Do you wish to ask me something, First Mate?" Dragon deliberately emphasized the last word. If he could keep the sexual energy on this ship running high, none of these humans would be thinking clearly enough to pose a threat to his plans. Of all the humans aboard, he considered the woman in black to be the smartest and therefore the most immediate threat to his plans.

"Well, Captain," she bit her lip, and suddenly looked confused and stopped, "the crew would like to know what your plans are. I mean, you sent your own ship..."

"My own ship?" the hyperman asked in a dangerous tone.

"Ah, yes." Dragon could see sweat on her forehead, as the woman realized she may have displeased her new Captain. "Your first ship. You sent it away."

"We don't need it for this mission, my dear."

Dragon could see the bridge crew were distracted by the conversation.

"Well, what is our mission Captain?" the First Mate blurted out. She put a hand to her pistol in case the hyperman thought she was challenging his position. Dragon could see the fear in her eyes, indicating to him that she had a pretty good idea of how low her chances were if the two of them fought.

"Yes, I suppose it is time the good crew of the King Midas learned of my plan." He stood and clasped his hands behind his back. The First Mate backed away a step, almost tripped, and then regained her balance less than gracefully. Dragon smiled at her and she blanched.

"I've found an artificial world! Think of it! An entire world made by some alien race and then abandoned. It's still active, and robot maintenance workers prowl the surface looking to repair whatever damage they find. We are going there to steal whatever treasures we can find."

"And what do you think those treasures might be, Captain?" asked the First Mate, raising an eyebrow. She had turned slightly, offering Dragon a clear look at her breast through the opening in her shirt. He appreciated her combination of brazenness and subtlety.

"Do I look like one of the advanced aliens that built that world, my dear? I have no idea, but there will be unimaginable riches. Of that I am completely sure. It's ancient but shows no signs of being under intelligent control, so that means the place was likely abandoned by its former masters. They may have removed some of their riches, but there is no way they took away everything of value. This place is huge!"