The Rembrandt Legacy

I raised an eyebrow. "That's a rather personal question, doc."

He snorted. Was that his idea of a laugh? "I know the female members of this crew well enough. And who knows what opportunities this journey may bring? Besides making you infertile for a year, the shot will protect against any kind of STD you might come across."

"Sounds neat. Any side effects I should worry about?"

"No. This particular medicine has been cleared for use on your kind. After all, you Terrans are a Precursor species, much like us or the Zuthrians and Gravons."

"Precursors?"

Praecor pressed an injector against my neck and fired. The high-pressure hypo forced the medicine into my bloodstream. I rubbed the spot on my neck. "Ouch."

"Better than needles," Praecor said, shrugging. "Let's continue this discussion elsewhere." He slipped a long-barreled gun into his holster, then gestured towards the door. I pocketed the chip he had given me and followed him until we reached what seemed to be the main lounge of the ship.

The room was massive, easily a hundred and fifty feet on the long side and floored with sand-colored stone plates. Four large pillars held up the ceiling. Between them, lowered into the floor, was a thirty-feet across, round pool. It glowed with multi-colored underwater lighting and it seemed to have seats molded into parts of the walls. Lily, fully naked, lounged in one of them, a water-proofed tablet computer in her hand. She waved merrily as Praecor and I entered.

Around the pool, large planters with wide-leafed foliage divided the room into smaller subsections. Along the far wall was a wide, rounded bar and a high-end entertainment set with a large projection space. Behind the bar, a blue-skinned Silician was busy mixing drinks, a glowing data cable connecting her temple with a device underneath the counter. She wore transparent neon-yellow body plating over her breasts, leaving anything below them and above the countertop bare.

Several sets of wide sofas and divans were scattered around the room. One of the seats was occupied by a red-skinned, bald Gravon male wearing an open-front vest and a pair of combat trousers. At around eight feet, his musclebound body dwarfed the furniture around him. He looked up briefly when he noticed us, his hand going to the plasma pistol on his hip. Once he deemed us -- or rather me -- nonthreatening, he relaxed and returned his attention to the naked holo performers writhing in the space by the bar. A large-breasted Marked Zuthrian, made up to look like a tribe's Wise Woman was sensuously grinding against a naked Felinoid, her black-skinned hands caressing through the red-and-white tiger-striped fur of the catgirl, kneading her firm breasts. The Felinoid's prehensile tail was curled around the Marked One's cock. I tore my gaze away from the lewd display at hand and joined Praecor, sitting down in a seat opposite him. Only then did I look at the ceiling. To my surprise, the cupola overhead showed the blackness of space.

"We have launched already?"

"Of course," Lily smirked from inside the pool. "I have no desire to hang around a prison any time longer than necessary." She turned her attention to Praecor and spoke with him in a tongue I didn't understand.

Praecor nodded, then said in English: "He's cleared for active duty. I was about to brief him on his abilities, if that's okay with you."

"Sure. I want everyone aboard to be in the loop. Carry on." She returned her attention to her tablet.

The Silician joined us, carrying two glasses. She had removed the data cable and shot me a playful smile. Her hips were covered in another piece of semi-translucent neon-yellow plating, leaving precious little to the imagination. "Welcome to the madhouse, Rembrandt. Do you mind cactus flower flavored juice?"

"No, not at all. I don't think any kind of alcohol would be a good idea. I do weird stuff when I lose control. Like disassemble whole weapon systems."

"Here you go then. Your usual Supernova, Praecor?" She held out a small container, not much more than a whiskey glass in size, filled with a drink which went from white and frothy on top to an almost sinister red at the bottom.

"Are you so desperate to lay me, Cosina?" Praecor shot her a wry smile and took the drink, carefully sipping on it. Going by his scowl, that Supernova must pack quite a punch.

"I wouldn't mind a round or two with you, doc," the Silician said with a chuckle. "I'll leave you to your current consultation. But do hurry. I have a massive case of the hots." She bent low and brushed a kiss onto Praecor's cheek. The Nor scowled again and brushed her away. Only when she was walking back to the bar did he allow himself a fleeting smile.

"Where were we?" he asked.

"You wanted to explain this whole 'Precursor' thing."

"Ah, yes. I'm surprised they don't teach it in your schools already. It's common knowledge everywhere else."

"In academic circles," Cosina added from behind the bar. "Don't let our rogue Mentalist fool you, Rembrandt."

Praecor sighed. "May I?" When no more interjections came, he went on. "Several hundred thousand years ago, a major alien species had settled this sector of space. They didn't leave behind a name for their kind, despite everything else they did, so everyone now calls them 'Precursor'."

"What's so special about them?" I asked, sipping my own drink. After five years of recycled, often metallic-tasting water, this simple glass of juice was heavenly and I intended to make the most of it.

"The Precursors were a highly advanced race. From your point of view, you even might call them 'godlike'. They had advanced the science of genetics to an absurd level. Don't get me wrong, their other exploits are nothing to sneeze at, but their skill at genetics is the true marvel here. When they arrived in this sector of space, they seeded several star systems with complete ecosystems, from the tiniest microbes to the most advanced species."

I openly laughed at him. "Are you suggesting all life was created by these mysterious ancients? I mean, our scientists have proof that life on Earth-"

"Grew from tiny microbes in the Ur-oceans of your world?" Praecor chuckled. "And a lucky coincidence caused them to evolve into higher life forms? Give me a break. That has to be a LOT of coincidences, because that's pretty much how life seemed to have started on Norwan and Gravo Prime as well. The Zuthrians have no idea how their pre-history panned out because they bombed themselves back into the Dark Age five thousand years ago, destroying any scientific records they might have had. But I'd wager a few thousand credits that even their ancestors crawled out of the subterranean oceans on Zuthras Prime. See the pattern here?"

"That's..." My head reeled. "So you want to say that humanity... that Earth was a Petri dish for some alien scientists?"

"Yup, pretty much." Praecor took another sip from his drink. "We all are living proof that environment shapes ability. Norwan is an idyllic garden world with few predators, so we had ample time to refine our science and culture. Gravo Prime is a high-g world and Gravons are notoriously hard to kill, plus exceptionally strong. Zuthras Prime is a harsh desert world, so the Zuthrians are adept at surviving hot and often irradiated climates. Makes them fantastic warriors too."

"How come Zuthrians have three genders?" I asked him, pointing at the holovid near the bar. The Marked Zuthrian kneeled behind the happily mewling Felinoid, thrusting deep into the catgirl's pussy. It didn't take much to imagine the wet, sloppy sounds they would make, but thankfully the volume was muted.

"That's got nothing to do with the Precursors and all to do with the Zuthrians loving their nuclear weapons so much. It's basically a mutation."

"A fun one," Lily snickered from her seat in the pool. "Remind me to add one to our crew at the next Waystation."

"So, what's our specialty then?" I asked, mildly irritated.

"The jury is still out on that," Praecor admitted. "Maybe your species was intended as a control group. Who knows? It's still too early to tell. The Nor stumbled over Earth only fifty years ago and we're still trying to figure you out. Anyway, looping back to the beginning of this explanation, the end result is that all Precursor species are compatible with each other."

"More or less," the Gravon chuckled. "Some of them are a bit tight." He caressed the pronounced bulge in his pants.

"What about the Grey and the Silicians?"

"They have evolved on their own and are of little concern right now."

"Hey! I've heard that!" Cosina complained.

"Now, coming back to you," Praecor went on, ignoring Cosina's outburst. "You, my Terran friend, are what those in the know call a 'Precursor Legacy'."

"Huh?"

"I thought my command of the English language would be sufficient," he snarled. "Precursor. Legacy."

"No, you misunderstand. I heard the words. But what do they mean?"

"In short? You are living data storage, with a rather narrow area of expertise."

I pulled the chip from its pocket and held it up. "Like this?"

"More like a specialized kind of worker ant," he said. "You have the knowledge and the skills to work in a particular capacity. Like an engineer."

"How is this even possible? And am I the only one?"

"My med scan showed some highly unusual properties of your DNA. The information seems hard-coded right into the foundation of your body. But please calm down. It's not like a terminal illness. In fact, with a bit of training, you will get quite a lot of mileage out of it. If you want, that is."

"You are the only one aboard our ship," Lily added, "but not the only Legacy. Consider this: Have you ever heard about people who seem to have an uncanny knack for a particular skill set? Master coders? Financial geniuses? The best athlete ever? There are high chances any one of them could be a Legacy." She leaned over the rim of the pool, a naked, wet alien goddess. My anger melted away as my hormones stirred.

I took a deep breath and a sip form my drink, considering her point.

"Well, Earth's history is filled with tales of legendary people. Inventors, generals, entrepreneurs so far ahead of their time, it's unreal."

"See? You're in illustrious company then." She favored me with a radiant smile and sank back into the waters.

"Yeah, I feel very special. The criminal technician who gets caught hands-deep in the control console of a half-refitted battlecruiser."

"I bet you simply forgot to disable the tamper failsafes first. It's usually the tiny things that break the biggest plans." Cosina said mildly.

"It wasn't the first starship we stole," I complained.

"But the first military vessel?"

"Yeah."

Praecor touched my arm, yanking my attention his way. "How much training do you have?"

I laughed bitterly. "There are no mutant training facilities outside the comics. I can activate it somewhat reliably when I'm calm and I know how to keep the urge down, but that's pretty much it. To say I'm in control would be stretching it."

"Lucky for you then that you've met us," the Nor said, a genuine smile on his lips. "You may not be a conventional psionic, but I'm sure many techniques they teach at the Mentalist Corps academy will work for you. Training begins tomorrow, at eight-hundred ship time." He clapped my shoulder and shot me a fierce grin. "We will have so much fun together." Praecor rose and left.

I watched him go, then asked no one in particular: "Now what?"

Lily paddled to the far end of the pool and pulled herself from the water, which cascaded in shimmering rivulets off her dark blue skin. Feeling my eyes on her, she shook her curvy butt before picking up her translucent suit and put it on. She knelt at the edge of the pool, dipping both hands in the water. I heard a soft whir, probably a suction pump filling the suit with water. She rose and went around the pool.

"Let me show you to your cabin, help you get settled in."

* * * *

I stood and stared open-mouthed like an idiot.

"What, you don't like it?" Lily asked, leaning against me. Her arm went around my lower back and she pulled me over the threshold.

The cabin in front of me was bigger than the cell I had spent the last five years in. Heck, it was bigger than the roach-infested cellar flat I had called "home" near Unity's Landing's spaceport. Like the rest of the ship, it was bright, airy and built with an eye towards understated elegance. Centerpiece of the room was a lavish bed, big enough for three. A matching desk and chair completed the obvious furniture, but I saw several gently glowing touchpads on the walls. There also was a wood-covered sliding door opposite the entrance. A keyboard-and-projector combo unit stood on the desktop, waiting to be played with.

I jerked upright when Lily's hand groped my butt. She pulled away and opened the cabinets.

"Here's the synthesis engine. Don't overdo it with the free drinks please. And here's ample space for both your wardrobe and kit. On our way to our destination, we'll visit Waystation 81."

"What, to add a Marked Zuthrian to your crew?"

Lily giggled. "Yes, that too. But mainly to treat you to some nice clothes and a decent kit. I can't have you run around the Lumia in these cheap synth-rags."

"Speaking of crews. What exactly am I here for?"

The panels hissed shut. Lily finished her tour of the room by opening the door opposite the entrance. A small, but well-furnished bathroom beckoned.

"Straight and to the point. I like you already, Rem." With swaying hips, she returned to where I was standing, still near the entrance, and took my hand. Not sure what she was up to, I nevertheless allowed her to guide me. I didn't have to walk far. Lily indicated the chair and I took the seat. She slithered onto the bed. The thin film of water coursing in her suit produced mesmerizing reflections under the light whenever she moved and I had to force myself to look at her face, not her breasts or elsewhere. It was harder than I anticipated. But I was professional enough to at least try and not offend my new boss.

Our eyes met. Hers sparkled playfully and her lips curled in a mischievous grin. "Do you want to take a quick cold shower before we begin? I'd wash your back if you want."

"I may not look like it right now," I admitted, adjusting the crotch of my coveralls, "but I'd like to hear more about what I'll be doing here." Besides eventually fucking your brains out.

Again that feeling as if I just had passed a test. Only this time, she didn't cover herself. Instead, she melted onto the mattress perpendicular to me, her intense azure eyes fixed on me, her chin resting on her arm.

"We're mercenaries, Rem. Or hired thugs, depending on who you ask."

"Which reminds me. Who else is on this ship besides me, you, Praecor, Cosina and the Gravon?"

"You mean Crush?"

A snort of laughter escaped me. "Crush? Really? Sounds like a BattleDome performer."

Her grin widened. "You'd be amazed. He was a Battledome performer, in between his stints as bounty hunter and bouncer in a Felinoid brothel. The name stuck. Let's see. You already know Praecor, and I'm sure by the time he's through with you, you'll hate his guts. But he's the best damn psionic I could find. No wonder. He defected from the Mentalist Corps. They only take the best to begin with.

"Then we have Cosina. Picked her up on Waystation 21, where she worked as a stripper to pay off her debt to a local loan shark. Turns out she had squandered away his fortune in some ill-advised stock trading scheme. She sucks at finance, but her coding skills are second to none. She's the one who found you. Go say 'thank you' when you have the time." Her gaze rested on my crotch as she said that and I felt a huge blush coming on.

"Vaelia, our pilot, is a former Zuthrian navy girl. One case of insubordination too many. Blasted a Grey slaving vessel to shreds without authorization. Flawless tactical mind and one hell of a shot. Dug her out of a quartz mine."

"Does this ship have weapons?" I asked.

Lily snorted in disgust. "What do you think? Well-hidden, of course. Two disintegrator cannons, one EMP emitter and two torpedo tubes stocked with warp rounds." She put on a coquettish smirk. "A girl can't be too careful these days."

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't these all either restricted or straight-up illegal?"

She shrugged. "Of course they are. The good stuff always is. For that matter, I'm pretty sure the Zuth's would dearly love to know where one of their jump drives had sauntered off to."

Now I was truly impressed. Zuthrian jump drives were the wet dream of every spacer. They allowed instantaneous "hops" of up to fifty light years at a time, while every other species used conventional faster-than-light travel or, if the system was connected, the Nor TransNet, a network of 'warp tunnels' which allowed for greatly accelerated movement. The downside to the TransNet was the reliance on fixed entry and exit points with no means of entering it at will. The Zuthrians knew what kind of tactical advantage they had and tried to keep them off the market. With varying degrees of success, going by Lily's boast.

"What does this ship not have?" I asked.

"Well, we're missing a Marked Zuthrian. And our shield generators are rather old. But if the next job pans out like I hope it will," here she reached out and caressed my thigh, "we might be able to afford the upgrade to Mark V phase shields. I know a guy who knows a guy." Her hand squeezed and I took a deep breath. Should I push her hand off? I decided against it. Curiosity had been my one fatal flaw, and it raised it's ugly head now.

"The next job?"

"Yup, the one I hired you for. Cosina is a genius in fucking with computers, but none of us are good enough for the kind of high-end engineering wizardry we'd need if we were to steal a Faceless seed ship and convince it's Brain Queen to secede from the hive mind."

My arousal evaporated like water in a plasma drive. "What?"

Lily sat up, all playfulness gone. Slowly, she repeated: "We are going to steal a Faceless seed ship and get the Brain Queen to secede from the hive mind."

"I know what Faceless are. Shape shifters who infiltrate societies by impersonating high-ranking people. Politicians, finance leaders, celebrities."

"Good. You've been watching 'Fading Stars', haven't you?"

"Well, there's not much in the way of entertainment in prison. They piped old episodes into the main hall for 'movie nights'."

"A seed ship is a vessel where new Faceless are cloned. Under normal circumstances they are incredibly difficult to find, often hidden in uninhabited or uncharted systems. Lucky for us, the Nor navy found one tucked away in their own back yard, just two jumps away from Norwan."

"And they didn't destroy it?"

"They tried, but their task force got slaughtered."

"Did they try again?"

"No. Our client had the battle records falsified so the ship registered as destroyed. As far as the Republic is concerned, they got their Pyrrhic victory. Case closed. We have the tracking signature of their FTL drive."

"What makes you think we can succeed where a Nor task force has failed?"

"Because we are a civilian vessel with a tiny crew. Exactly what the Faceless generally use when 'seeding' new planets."

"You want to bait them."

"Yup. You in?" Lily rose, offering me a hand.

"It would be a bit late to say 'thanks, but no thanks'." I took her hand, shaking it.

She pulled me to my feet. "Come." Squeezing my hand, she guided me towards the bathroom.

"Am I reeking that much?"

Lily's laugh tinkled through the cabin. "I've had worse. But I can't in good conscience have you molest the rest of the crew with that boner."

"You don't have to-" I began, halfway in the bathroom, but Lily cut me short by hitting the quick-release button of her suit. Three latches on her shoulders and neck snapped open and the suit hit the tiles with a wet 'splat', water going everywhere.