Making of a Starship Captain Ch. 20

"That's right, Mike, drop the gun. Because you know you can't shoot herrr, can you?"

"You're right Natasha, I can't shoot Andrea," he said, lowering his gun further. His arms slumped in defeat.

Natasha laughed. "Now drop your veapon, Mikey and-"

Her voice was suddenly cut off as Taylor raised his compression pistol and shot her through the eye. Natasha was dead before she hit the ground.

Andrea screamed and ran into his arms. "Mike!" she cried. "How did you do that?"

********

He was back at the Academy. He had just shot a moving target, without warning, which had suddenly popped up on the range, lifting his compression rifle and firing without any pause.

Major Shalikashvili came up to him with a hard smile. "Good work, Taylor. Son, do you know the difference between a good shot and a marksman?"

"No sir," said Taylor.

The Major put an arm around him, and they started walking. "A good shot is someone who can take the time to aim at a target carefully, pull the trigger, and hit it on the first shot. A lot of people can be good shots. It isn't very difficult." Then he stopped and looked Taylor in the eye. "But a true marksman is something else. He can aim and fire in a fraction of a second. That's you, Mike. You have a unique gift most other people will never have. Use it wisely, and use it rarely."

And Taylor always remembered those words.

********

They were back on the Scunathorpe, in Andrea's cabin. Andrea no longer cared what her crew thought or whispered behind her back. As soon as the cabin door closed behind them, she was in Mike's arms. She trembled as she kissed him. He kissed her back.

"Thank you, oh thank you, oh thank you," she kept saying, in between kisses. "Mike, you saved my life. She was going to kill me. She was going to kill both of us. If anyone else had been there, I would have been dead."

Taylor kissed her back. Her soft lips were incredible. He loved the feeling of her body pressed against his. A certain part of him started to get very excited.

Andrea suddenly pulled back, and caressed his cheeks. "Do you want this body, Mike?"

Do you want this body? Where had he heard that before?

"I will let you have it," said Andrea. "I will let you have me," she added, in case there was any doubt. She looked into his eyes, but wasn't sure what she saw there. She pulled her day shirt over her head, and pulled down her pants, standing before him in her Survey Service bra and panties. Andrea's large breasts were rich and full, soft and luscious looking.

"Take me, Mike. Use me. I... I will be yours," she said, bowing her head.

Taylor put a finger under her chin and raised her head. "You will let me fuck you blind, Andrea?"

"Yes," she said softly. Her eyes looked so incredibly soft and needy!

"You'll let me use you every way a man can use a woman?" Taylor asked.

"Yes," said Andrea, in a little girl's voice, looking extremely vulnerable.

"You'll let me finish inside of you, and fill you with my... my essence?" Taylor asked. His own words were getting him excited. He felt his male sex organ getting rigid in his Survey Service trousers.

Andrea, biting her lips, nodded unhappily.

Taylor thought for a moment. Andrea looked so incredibly fuckable. He had dreamed about a moment like this for years. But now that she stood before him like this, he found his desire diminishing.

He nodded. "Andrea, I appreciate it, but it's not necessary."

"Not necessary?" said Andrea, not believing her ears. Her eyebrows shot up, and she looked like she had just been slapped in the face. "Mike, I'm offering to let you fuck me! Don't you find me attractive?"

Taylor took her by the arms. "More than you can ever know." He sighed. "Andrea, I want to tell you something. Something I've never told another woman. Will you keep a secret for me?"

Andrea nodded.

"Andrea, I've fucked all kinds of women. When I was a God, I fucked women by the dozens. All kinds of girls. Girls who were virgins. Girls who were married. Every kind of girl you can think of. And I developed so many mental calluses that I didn't even care if they really wanted it or not. All I cared was that they were willing... like you are, right now."

He looked down at Andrea's sexy, trembling body. "But you're different, Andrea. You're my friend. I've had a crush on you every since the Academy days."

She gasped.

"Yes. If I had been bolder and braver then, things might have been different. I care for you, really I do," he said, caressing her cheek. "And because I care for you, so very deeply, I'm not going to fuck you. Not like this."

He leaned forward, but instead of kissing her on the lips, he kissed her on the forehead.

"Mike," she said, in a half strangled voice, as he turned towards the door.

Taylor took one last look at Andrea, standing there in her bra and panties, with her pants a jumble around her feet. The way she stood there, the way she was crying, the way she looked so vulnerable, so helpless, so willing to be fucked, to be used in any way a man would want to use her... it gave him such an incredible, throbbing erection. It was a scene that would be burned into his brain for the rest of his life, a scene that would help him relax and fall asleep on more than one tense occasion, and he found himself tremendously glad for the memory.

And then he turned and left.

"What the fuck just happened here?" Taylor's Lust demanded.

********

They didn't like to be called Manophobes.

There were followers of Aura, and then there were other followers of Aura. Some were more radicalized than others. Some viewed men with more hostility than others.

There were some males, a few, who were dedicated followers of the She-Goddess, but no one had ever heard of a male priest of Aura; there were only priestesses, and priestesses were not allowed to marry men, only women, so the She-Goddess decreed. That religious commandment led to the raft of Headophilia scandals which had wracked the church for many years, as closeted heterosexual priestesses vented their sex drives in inappropriate avenues.

The She-Goddess had two basic beliefs:

1) That men were misguided (at best) and that women should be in charge.

2) That mankind was raping the environment, simply by existing.

Followers of the She-Goddess were wracked with tremendous guilt simply for being alive, and eating or drinking or going to the bathroom. They felt they were destroying the fragile Earth.

And so naturally, followers of the She-Goddess objected every time the World Government or the Survey Service opened up a planet for colonization. Every breathable, habitable planet should remain exactly how it was, untouched, down to a single flower. Even the airless Moon, which had not a single life on it, was deemed too "pristine" to mine for valuable minerals.

And so it was exceedingly odd for followers of Aura to participate in the competition for Sheppard's Planet.

Taylor went to meet with the leaders of the "Aura Concession", as it came to be known, or "those fucking Manophobes", as they were also called (somewhat less diplomatically) by others.

Aisha Goldenrod and Megan Manowar were all smiles when Taylor showed up at the door to their church.

"Captain Taylor, so good to meet you," said Aisha, immediately taking his hands and gently pulling him into their church. As they entered, Taylor saw the light streaming from a giant stained glass window, showing the She-Goddess, with her brilliant red hair, showering the huddled masses with cherries and dandelions.

"Would you like a drink, Captain?" Megan Manowar asked. "We have some genuine non-imitation lemonade, freshly squeezed."

"No thank you," said Taylor. "I'm sorry to take your time-"

"Oh, it's no trouble at all!" said Aisha, smiling broadly at him. "In fact, we wished you had visited us sooner! We love visitors, especially the Survey Service."

"You do?" said Taylor, his eyes narrowing.

"Yes! You're such brave explorers. Tell us about your adventures, Captain Taylor. Tell us all about them," said Aisha, and if it were possible, her smile somehow got even broader.

"I, uh...." Taylor paused, and decided to be direct. "I thought you didn't believe in the colonization of other planets. I thought Aura called it "galactic rape"."

"She does," said Megan Manowar. "But... there are followers of Aura, and followers of Aura, if you know what I mean, Captain. We are realists. We realize that Sheppard's Planet is going to be colonized by someone. And so, if it is to be colonized, we want it done in the least intrusive way as possible."

"What exactly is your demonstration project?" Taylor asked. "I see your church around us, but... little else. I don't even see any residences for your followers."

"That is correct, Captain," said Aisha Goldenrod. "We believe in using as little of Aura's sacred earth as possible, using the smallest possible footprint. There are small family sized plots around us, each with a gardening shed. Each family lives out of its shed."

"You all live in... sheds?"

"As Aura intended," said Megan, looking supremely pleased.

"And these plots... how much food are they intended to produce?"

"Only as much as are needed for a family's consumption," said Aisha. "Any more would be wasteful."

"So your project, basically speaking, is subsistence farming?"

"We prefer to call it living in harmony with the Earth," said Aisha.

Taylor nodded. He looked around. "I noticed you built a nice big church here. It's even bigger than the one we have at home." He suddenly realized he had said more than he intended.

"At home? Captain Taylor, is it possible that you are a follower of Aura?" Aisha's lower lip was quivering.

"I attended a Church of Aura in my childhood years," said Taylor.

"Really? Did you find it stimulating?" Megan asked.

"Yes, very much so," said Taylor, remembering the tingling he had felt while he wore the silvery helmet with Sister Audra.

"Did it change your whole perspective on life?" Aisha asked.

"Oh, you can be sure of that," said Taylor, remembering for many years how he had suffered through the taint of Audra, how all the kids had laughed at and bullied him about it. His hand clenched without his even realizing it.

"And yet, here you are, in the Survey Service," said Aisha, looking puzzled.

"I, ah, actually left the church as I grew older," said Taylor.

"May I ask why?" said Aisha.

Taylor remembered Sister Audra, her head hung low, being dragged into a World Government police car wearing electrocuffs.

"The music," he said. "I couldn't stand the organ music."

"A shame," said Audra, touching his hand. "Well, we have no organ here. Perhaps we can rekindle your interest."

"Perhaps," said Taylor, giving a weak smile.

They gave him the grand tour. One plot of land looked much like the next and the next after that. Taylor saw people on their hands and knees digging in the dirt. He realized that one roboplanter could do the work of all these people in a fraction of the time. They had really gone back to 17th century agriculture. And then he noticed something else. Most of the people he saw were women.

"Don't you have any men?" Taylor asked.

"Of course we do," said Megan Manowar sweetly. "Why, there's Dawdren! Dawdren, come over here and say hello!"

A short, thin bald man nervously padded over to them like an obedient puppy. He bowed his head. "My name is Dawdren. I am pleased to meet you."

"Dawdren is one of our emancipated men," said Megan, putting her arms around him. "We're so happy to have him here, aren't we?"

Taylor looked down at the thin man, who looked like he had been psychologically beaten to a pulp. Dawdren reminded him a little of himself, after he had spent a few weeks on the Charleston.

Aisha gave him a slap on his ass to send him scurrying on his way.

"Just think, Captain, if you gave up the Survey Service, you could have a life rich and fulfilling like Dawdren!"

"A tempting offer," said Taylor.

"Think of a life without electricity, without material possessions."

"Sounds great," said Taylor.

"A diet purely of plants and vegetables grown in your own garden."

"No meat?" said Taylor.

"None, Captain," said Aisha. "Aura says that eating meat destroys the planet."

"Of course," said Taylor.

"Yes, I think you'd fit in quite well here," said Aisha. "The only commandment you might have a little trouble with is no sex."

"No sex?" said Taylor.

"Well, perhaps that's an exaggeration," said Aisha. "Men are not permitted to have sex unless their woman allows it. Everything is under female control here, Captain."

"What a relief," said Taylor

"So, are you ready to join us?" Megan asked.

Taylor paused. "Not today, I think."

********

There was another earthquake. A major one, this time. Buildings shook. People were thrown off their feet. One of the barns in the Australian Concession partially collapsed. Part of the entrance to the mine in the Russian Concession also collapsed (which really didn't matter, as the mine was now under guard and closed off). Several of the EU greenhouses were shattered. Parts of the Chinese Fabricator were damaged.

Nearly a hundred people were injured. Medical teams from the Scunathorpe and the Relentless streamed down to the surface and opened an impromptu field hospital by the landing field.

Most of the injuries were not life threatening, though two people had nearly been crushed by falling machinery in the Chinese Concession.

Andrea was in hysterics. "It's over, Mike," she said. "Everyone's clamoring to go home. The World Government will cancel the competition. I was the one who first surveyed Sheppard's Planet. I was the one who recommended it be opened for settlement. My career will be ruined-"

"Andrea," said Taylor. She didn't respond. He grabbed her arms and shook her. "Andrea! Listen to me! I don't think these earthquakes are natural in origin."

Andrea looked puzzled. "Who could be causing them? And how?"

"That's what I want to find out. Listen, can you keep people from leaving for a few days?"

"Well... I suppose, Mike," said Andrea, blinking slowly. "It will take at least a week or two for ships to arrive to pick everyone up anyway. But the World Government-"

"Stall the World Government," said Taylor.

"What should I tell them?"

"Tell them anything. Tell them that you're investigating. Tell them you need a few days to give them a final report. They're bureaucrats, they'll understand."

"And what will you be doing?"

********

"The Manophobes?" said Sophie.

She was talking to Taylor in his quarters. Royalty was there too; Ann Marie Queen was massaging his left foot; Audrey King his right.

"Well, who else could it be?" Taylor asked. "Do you think Joanna Martin is creating earthquakes to drive everyone else off the planet?"

"That seems unlikely," Sophie admitted. "Though if she could drive everyone off planet except for you, she might have a motive."

Taylor gave her a cutting glare, and Sophie returned the favor with a hint of a smile, with her body turned so only Taylor could see it.

"The Russians are all under guard and are being shipped off tomorrow. They couldn't have done it," said Taylor.

"I agree."

"The Chinese might have done it, but this quake also damaged their Fabricator."

"Damage which can be easily repaired," said Sophie.

"Maybe," said Taylor. "But of all the concessions, which one suffered absolutely no damage?"

"The Manophobes," said Sophie. "But they only have small farms. Except for their church, there is nothing that could have been damaged."

"Except for their church," said Taylor. "And who desperately wants the other Concessions off the planet more than the others do?"

"I suppose the Russians, until we got rid of them," said Sophie. "But right now I'd say the Manophobes. Are you saying they have some technology which can cause earthquakes?"

"Why not? The Survey Service could do it, given the right equipment."

"But the Manophobes are technophobes, are they not?" Sophie said.

"Yes, and they are also hypocrites," said Taylor, gritting his teeth.

"I have scanned their church with the ship's sensors. I find no power emanations or anything which would explain these tremors," said Sophie.

"We're not going to find the answer through science, Sophie."

"Then how are we going to find the answer, Captain?"

"Through faith."

********

"So are you really thinking of joining us, Captain?" Aisha asked.

They were having a candlelit dinner in one of the side rooms of the church.

"It's a possibility," Taylor admitted.

"A very remote one," came Sophie's voice, in his hidden earpiece.

"Do you like your rice pilaf?" Aisha asked.

"Oh, it's so delicious," said Taylor.

"Even more so than a porterhouse steak, I'm sure," came Sophie's voice. "I'm scanning the rooms on the Northwest side of the church first. I cannot find any hidden doors or hatches."

"You would simply love the life of an emancipated male. Imagine responding to a woman's every beck and call."

"I'm thrilled just thinking about it," said Taylor.

"As long as the call is only for sex, and the person making the call is Joanna Martin, Andrea Farber, or Yeomen King or Queen," said Sophie.

"It has a lot of possibilities," Taylor admitted.

"I'm glad you think so," said Aisha.

"I found a concealed hatch in the office of the High Priestess," said Sophie. "I am opening it now."

"I have heard much about you, Captain Taylor," said Aisha. "It is said you have had many women. We call that a sin."

"Michael, on the other hand, calls that all in a day's work," said Sophie. "Captain, I have gone down stairs, and I am in some kind of elaborate control room."

"Could you really give up a life of sexual pleasure for Aura?" Aisha asked.

"I only wish I could see your face now, Captain," came Sophie's voice.

"Possibly," said Taylor, trying to walk a fine line.

"Possibly, as in never. Tell her that never is a distinct possibility," said Sophie. "I am looking over the controls now."

"All you would need to do is to agree to the procedure," said Aisha.

"What procedure?" Said Taylor.

"Captain, I see something which might be an underground pulse generator. I think-" Sophie's voice suddenly cut off.

"The procedure of emancipation," said Aisha.

"Procedure, eh?" said Taylor. He wondered what had happened to Sophie. He fought off the growing urge to get up and find her.

"You seem nervous, Captain. Trust me, you will be much calmer after the procedure is completed," said Aisha.

Suddenly Taylor started to feel dizzy. "What... what procedure...."

"Where we remove your testicles, and your shaft. Then you will be the perfect emancipated male."

Taylor struggled to get up. The room was spinning around him. He felt lightheaded. And then suddenly, all went black.

********

"Are you awake again, my dear Captain?"

Taylor blinked. He felt cold. He looked down and realized he was completely naked. He was lying on his back on a metal table that was tilted at a 45 degree angle off the floor. His legs and arms were tied down by metal cuffs, and both were spread wide.

Taylor looked around. He saw a number of Aura's followers, armed with concussion pistols. He also saw Sophie Astor, with her hands held behind her back.

Taylor blinked again, and Aisha realized he was aware.

"I'm sorry to have done that to you. But it was a mild drug, necessary for the operation."

Taylor looked down in panic. He was relieved to find himself intact.

Aisha laughed. "No, Captain, we wanted you wide awake for the procedure."

"No," said Taylor.

"Yes," said Aisha. "We are well aware of who you are, Michael Tiberius Taylor of the United Survey Service. Your history of debasing and using women is long and unparalleled. We know how you pretended to be a God on some virgin planet where you abused hundreds of women. It is time you paid the price for your crimes."