When my vision clears, I can see that the so-called intruder is in fact a young (well, young, relatively speaking, I'm pretty sure she's older than me) woman, pretty and blond, and wearing an official looking uniform. Granted, it's kind of cheap looking, and definitely a bit on the skimpy side, but, hey, who am I to judge, right? The uniform consists of a short blue skirt, and a blue jacket (displaying a distracting amount of cleavage) with a tiny blue cap and a matching pair of heels serving as bookends for her attractive vertical profile. She regards me for a few moments with a mixture of relief and mild annoyance on her face before speaking.
"Oh, good. You're still here." She says. "The system alerted us when you opened the door, but nobody noticed it until just a few minutes ago. We were afraid you'd be out wandering the ship! Guess you thought better of it though, huh?"
I decide not to answer, but the look on her face tells me that she knows she's right. The fact that I'm curled up into a fetal position and peaking at her over my trembling naked knees must have given her a clue.
She continues. "Yeah, it's alright. It's that idiot Erinn's fault. I swear to god, she's such a ditz! We leave you in here to thaw, and she goes to get a drink and leaves the door unlocked to boot! But, that's the kind of bullshit you've gotta put up with when you Captain picks the crew with his... Oh, I'm sorry, I'm kind of ranting aren't I? Forget it. My name's Tina, and I'm supposed to escort you to the Captain's Chambers."
Captain's Chambers? That doesn't sound good. I eek out an answer. "What... exactly does he want with me?"
Tina laughs. "Oh, no, nothing like that! He's just going to let you in on what's going on is all."
"In his personal chambers?" I respond, leaking incredulity.
"His personal...? Oh you must have misheard me. The Captain's name is Will Chambers. I'm escorting you to his office. No funny business, I promise. Just come along and, like I said, he'll explain what’s going on."
"What exactly IS going on?" I respond. I'm getting a bit more confident I think, but talking still feels weird. Not like "sore throat" weird or "possible brain damage" weird, but more like I hadn't had to use my lips to form words for years and years.
"Best you hear it from the Captain. Now come along. I've got more to do today than escort your cute little hiney all over the ship you know?"
Well, I don't appreciate that verbiage at all, but I'm clearly in no position to take offense. Better to let it slide for now. Instead, I nod, indicating that I understand and agree with her suggested course of action. Before standing however, I gaze up hopefully and ask "If we're going to be leaving the room, would it be possible for me to have something to wear? It uhm... looks a little crowded out there."
"Yeah, it usually is at this phase of the voyage. We'll be docking shortly. Which is why I need to get you to Captain Chambers pronto, naked or not." She says.
"Naked or not? Seriously? Why don't we make it not?" Okay, I'm starting to talk with a bit of an attitude, which is no good. I'm in no position to go around pissing people off. But, I mean, seriously? For real? She expects me to walk around a crowded ship full of strangers in nothing but my birthday suit? What would it have cost her in time to grab some extra clothes on the way down here? A towel even!
"I do NOT have time for this." She says, clearly meaning every word.
Okay, I'm screwing up. So, as a sign of good faith and cooperation, I decide to stand. I'm very careful as I rise, draping one arm over my breasts as I tuck the other between my legs. Getting up without using my hands is a little awkward, but I don't think she saw anything incriminating in the process (except for a WHOLE lot of bare flesh.) Now standing up, fully nude before this strange woman in uniform, I try to win back her sympathies. "Okay, I understand your predicament, but I really, REALLY don't want to go out there with no clothes on. You just have to believe me. If you could just get me something to cover up with, I'd be SO grateful, and you'd have my full cooperation."
Much to my dismay, Tina doesn't seem moved. If anything, she only looks more annoyed. "Do I look like I'm carrying a change of clothes under this skirt? We're docking VERY soon little lady, and when we dock, you're gone, understand? Off the ship. If you want to be clued in, then follow me. If not, then you can just sit here and wait for security to throw you out on your pale ass! I really don't care which you pick, but I'm leaving right now."
With that, she turns and leaves. Pale ass? That's uncharitable. I have a fair complexion but... Okay, no time to worry about that. She's been gone from the doorway for a few seconds, and I can see people (and things) of all kinds walking passed the door, all of them in something of a hurry. If I don't get my "pale" butt in gear, I'm going to lose her in the shuffle!
Gingerly, I creep up to the door and poke my head out into the hall. The river of humanity (and inhumanity) stretches far and wide in both directions with no end in sight. "Crap." I think to myself. No waiting until the coast is clear. I can still see Tina in the distance, but she's quickly shrinking into the horizon. No choice but to grin and bare it. "Well, I'll bare it, but grinning is another story entirely." I promise myself, hoping to elicit a chuckle, but arriving instead at a self conscious grin. Looking down at my body, I can see that my arm covers my nipples adequately, but little else, leaving the vast majority of my breasts exposed. My other hand does a slightly better job of hiding my little love nest from view, but that just about uses up all of my natural resources. Nothing to be done about my rear end. As long as I'm in the hall, anyone who cares to look will see me naked from behind. But it's a sacrifice I have to make. Maybe things will make sense after I talk to the Captain. That's what I tell myself before I take that last deep breath and charge out into the fray.
I don't bother to walk, to stay in step with the crowd. Rather, I run. Moving as ably as I can manage, I weave in between lines and dart past pedestrians, all while keeping my eyes fixed on Tina's almost criminally short blue skirt (a criminally short blue skirt I'd just about kill for right about now!) As I run, I see heads turn, and hear voices shout, some confused, some startled or annoyed, and some clearly very pleased to see a cute human girl running around naked in a crowded hallway. The blood is pumping hot in my veins (and not merely from exhaustion mind you) when I finally catch up to Tina. Looking over her shoulder, she smiles at me and then continues to walk at her leisurely pace, leaving me to creep along behind her trying desperately to shield my front, while my recently (and unfairly) derided "pale" butt sticks out for all to see.
As I creep along on tip toes behind the silent uniformed crew member, I begin to feel awfully silly. I also feel the eyes of every being we pass, all of them seemingly glued to my glutes! There are men of course, human men I mean, and they're appreciation is obvious and expected. There were women too and their reactions are similarly predictable. Some laugh, some sneer, some even leer. Like I said, predictable. What I didn't expect however, was all the attention I was getting from the aliens. I mean, I like to think of myself as a head turner, but when something that looks like a giant blue praying mantis of indeterminate gender turns its head around 180 degrees to check out your butt, it's hard to decide whether to feel flattered or horrified.
Finally, after much embarrassment, and much inflammation of capillaries, Tina and I are finally standing outside the Captain's Office. It's much plainer than I expected, not so much different than the door to the room I woke up in. In fact, the only real difference is a gold plated name tag on the door which reads simply "Captain Will Chambers." After telling me to wait just a moment (which heck, that's no big deal. I'm just a naked chick on a space ship. How much more casual can you get?) Tina turns on the door mounted intercom, and says "Captain Chambers, I've brought the girl."
There is a brief pause on the other end, and then finally, the Captain responds. "Send her in. Then get back to work. We've got a ship to unload."
Tina allows herself to smile before opening the door and motioning for me to enter. "Go on in, he's all yours."
Gulping, I take a few moments to watch Tina saunter away before entering the Captain's office. As I tear my eyes away, I once again find myself wishing for the clothes off that woman's back.
As I enter the office, hands still protecting my privates, I'm glad that the Captain is at his desk, chair turned around and staring out the back window at the stars. Presuming he wants to talk face to face, I don't need to worry about flashing him my butt. I'm feeling a little more at ease now, at least until the door slams suddenly shut behind me and the captain spins around in his chair. Just like that, I'm back to being a nervous wreck.
The Captain however, for his part, couldn't be a cooler piece of work. He issn't even looking at me yet. Though he's facing in my direction now, his eyes are fixed upon a folder full of papers in his hands. Similar folders are scattered across his desk, accompanied only by a half empty glass of a golden liquid that definitely looks alcoholic. It's somewhat pleasing to note that Captain Chambers isn't a bad looking man. In fact, I think he could be quite handsome if he took better care of himself. As he is however, his hair is dark and unkempt, his cleft jaw obscured by uneven stubble, and his slick red and blue Captains uniform is soiled and disheveled. He has the look of a man who was once great, but had some time ago stopped giving a damn.
Finally, mercifully, he looks up from his papers and regards me with sad obligation. "Well, hello there. Good afternoon."
Gazing out the window at the stars, I find the temporal revelation a bit startling. Smiling, I decide to make a note of it. "Hard to tell out here huh? Always looks like nighttime to me."
Disappointingly, he remains unmoved. "Galactic Standard Time ma'am. Solar cycles aren't all that good for judging time out here. Way too subjective. Guess you must be a land lubber. Either that, or I've been out in space too long."
He raises the ghost of a smile after that, and it puts me a little at ease. Smiling, I replied "Well I guess I must be. I... I don't know much about... well, myself. Tina told me you might be able to help me with that?"
I look at him expectantly, and see him eye the chair that sits in front of his desk. I think at first he may offer me a seat, but instead he looks down at his files and begins to speak again. "Don't remember much eh? I figured as much. That's going to be rough. What do you remember?"
Taking a deep breath, I order my thoughts and answer to the best of my ability. "I remember that my name is Megan Corren. I remember going to school, and learning how to read and write, but I can't remember where or when, and people and faces are nothing but a big blur. I guess that's the best way to describe it. Aside from my name, everything before waking up in that room on your ship is a blur."
Nodding, the Captain said, "Sounds about right. Okay, Megan. Here's the skinny: you’re not Megan Corren. You are Megan Corren's clone. I don't know who Megan Corren is, or why she donated her genetic material to a cloning lab, but she did. Whoever commissioned your creation must have wanted a complete personality to go along with his or her fully formed 18 year old clone, which means that Megan's personality was probably imprinted onto your blank slate of a mind. Seems like they cut a few things out though. That's really not that surprising. Many donors specifically stipulate in their contracts that any clones created using their brain patterns and DNA must undergo a mental editing process to remove all but the most basic of personal data from their memories. It's also possible that whoever bought you wanted you to be able to walk and talk and hold a conversation like a real human being, but didn't want you running around thinking you were some 18 year old girl who's been kidnapped. In either case, you’re not Megan Corren, you just have her DNA, and some of her memories, but mostly basic stuff, some personality quirks and whatever trivium slipped through the brain filters. Getting all of this so far?"
I'm standing there before the Captain, sock still and stark naked with my mouth hanging agape. It's several moments before I can put words together. "I'm... I'm a clone? I'm somebody's property?!"
"Well now, see, that's where we run into a problem. Selling clones as slaves has been outlawed in the central systems for some time now. We're not in the central systems though. We're in the outer territories. Communications out here aren't so great, and consequently, neither is the local law enforcement. Things move very slowly out here miss, and it takes a while for the law to catch up. Still, I don't like sticking my neck out, so I've been out of the clone transport business for some time now. Whoever commissioned your creation though, man, they must really want you bad. They paid me a whole ton of credits to haul your hiney along with the rest of my cargo. I normally wouldn't accept a job that cut it this close to breaking a serious law, but, I mean, you should have seen the check... Anyway, to make a long story short, I got pulled over by an OT Ranger, who was specifically on the lookout for clones. I was able to convince her that I didn't know the law had gone into effect out here quite yet, and she let me off with a warning and an order to thaw you out and set you free. So, here we are then. You’re a free woman, and I have to mail one big ass check back to one very disappointed customer."
I can't believe this guy! How can he lay something like this on me so casually! He looks bored already. Struggling to suppress my shock however, I press on with the first question that comes to my head. "Do you know who it was that... commissioned me? Or why?"
"I didn't ask any questions." He replies bluntly. "That was part of the deal. All the arrangements were made through a go between, a Verusian fellow I think... or a Verusian lady, I can never tell the difference with their kind, not without peaking under the cloaks I mean. Anyway, he/she was a well known free agent who could have been hired by anybody, so I can't help you out much with the 'who' question. The 'why' question though... well, there are lots of reasons people want clones. Manual labor is the most popular, slave soldiers is next after that, but you hardly seem the type they'd want for that. Way too soft and pretty. Plus, your purchaser wanted you and you alone, with your particular personality, which kind of rules out the faceless worker/soldier idea. I'd say there must be some kind of emotional attachment. Maybe Megan Corren meant something to the person who purchased you. Maybe you’re related. Maybe you’re old friends, lovers, or even enemies. Don't get offended or anything, but it could be a sexual thing too. People who can throw around that kind of money can afford to spend it on satisfying these kinds of whims. But, like I said, I wouldn't sweat it too much. You're free. I was supposed to deliver you to Taron IV, but you’re never going to make it there. We're unloading cargo at the Gogon 34 Oribital Space Station over the planet Sorgo, and you’re unloading with it. It's a hospitable planet for humans, environment wise. A little rough and tumble, but you should be able to make a life for yourself there if you know how to work it."
Well now. There's not much I can do but stand there looking stupid, naked and flabbergasted, is there? Again, I stand in silence for a few moments before speaking up again, despair creeping unwanted into my voice. "Start a new life? I don't even know where to begin! I don't have anything! I don't know anybody! I barely know who I am! How am I supposed to..."
"Not my problem." The Captain says, cutting me off. "I've been from one end of the Galaxy to the other sweetheart, and I've heard all kinds of sob stories. If I dropped tears and money on every one of them, I'd have died of dehydration in a poorhouse by now. So, sorry, really, but you’re on your own. I've got my own problems to deal with."
I can't believe this asshole is dismissing me like this! I wish that OT Ranger had stuck around to sort all of this out. Instead, I'm stuck dealing with Captain I-Don't-Give-A-Fuck-Slave-Trader and his crew of snooty, tackily dressed bimbos! But still, I try to retain my cool. Yelling at this guy isn't going to help me any more than catching an attitude helped me sway Tina back at my wake up room. Taking a deep breath, I say, calmly as I can manage, "Can I at least get some clothes before you kick me out? And... maybe a little money for food? You can't just kick me out with nothing!"
"Look, babe," He said, all of his official captain pretext seemingly gone from his tone and manner. "I already told you, if you’re looking for charity, you’re in the wrong place. I already had to eat a small fortune because I bumped into that stupid space cop. I'm not dropping any more money on a failed investment. So, and I say this with all due sympathy, take a hike. We'll be unloading shortly. You're free to visit any non restricted areas on the ship until then, but I'd suggest waiting in the docking area with the other outgoing passengers. Less of a chance you'll get lost or run into inhospitable riders. I take on all kinds and they're not all as nice as me."
Somehow I find that hard to believe. I complain again. "Look, I don't know if you noticed this, but...I'M NAKED! BUTT NAKED! I'll be arrested the minute I walk off the ship! I’ll be free for all of five minutes!"
He was actually laughing now as he said "Wow, whoever Megan Corren was, she didn't get off Earth much, did she? I believe you'll find that the public nudity laws out here are much more liberal than they are back in human controlled space. Liberal as in: nonexistent. Sorgo was frequented by non-human aliens long before we ever managed to touch the stars, and a lot of those aliens don't have any need for clothing. It's true, as a naked human, you'll stick out like a sore thumb, but you’re not going to get locked up. People might think you’re a very aggressive prostitute, but, hey, that's legal out here too. You’re a smart, pretty girl, and believe me, your pretty lucky in that regard. Humans are considered attractive by all kinds of critters. Now, I'm not telling you to go out there and sell your body or anything, but, like I said, if you know how to work it, you should do well. Now, that's my two cents, and that's all the money your gonna get from me and my crew. So, one last time, get out of my office."