This choice: Worker Designate NX-8118 • Go Back...Chapter #3Worker Designate NX-8118 by: PonyGirl As I paced in my quarters, I wondered if my reward was really coming. It wouldn't surprise me if some bureaucrat had screwed up my paperwork again. I had worked long and hard for this reward, and now that it was finally in my grasp, I wasn't going to give it up without a fight. I hated this life, and I hated the remnants of the Great Human Star Empire, but there was no choice other than to be as good a worker drone as you could be. Since the rest of the galaxy had shed human domination millennia ago, they were not about to risk a resurgence of humans. Any human caught outside of this hell-world was killed on sight. Other than the shield technology that protected our planet, and a para-dimensional phased cloaking stealth technology, we were actually outgunned in every way. As we rotted on this planet, the rest of the galaxy continued to advance their technology. It was a rare thing that I even knew this, but as a weapons master, it was my job to try to find that edge that would set us free again, so I had to know about what defenses were out there, and how to overcome them. Of course, the 'great-advancement' that I made, and which earned me this reward, was a lame advancement at best. Though it almost doubled our firepower, it was probably centuries behind our enemies. If caught uncloaked, our best ship would be destroyed long before my weapon could be effective against an enemy ship, and that was with outdated information. It might be totally worthless today!
None of that matter though. Not to me.After eight-hundred years of life, I had no illusions about what some called hope. The best hope that I had was that my reward would come through. Surely my senior status had earned it!
I had almost given up hope when the door annunciator sounded. I walked up to the door nervously, still not confident that the system sent me what I wanted. What I had earned. The door slid open, and my heart leapt almost as much as my cock. There she stood. A Newly! If they gave me what I had wanted, that beautiful, young woman was just out of the training pods! From the somewhat frightened and confused look on her lovely face, this did seem like her first time as a pleasure drone.
She looked up at me, "Hello. I, um, I am Pleasure Drone...."
I grabbed her, "I don't care about your number girl! I am here for your body!" I yanked her inside and began to kiss her!
She did not fight me. No pleasure drone could of course. Sex was in their programming. but as a Newly, her programming was not complete. Her reactions were more normal. At least, as normal as anyone could be in our damned society. They had kept their word. She was a virgin. That was the only good thing about her. She was obviously reluctant without the conditioning, and on more than one occasion, she made me feel guilty. Maybe even dirty. When we were done I yelled at her a lot and told her I would report her to her superiors. And I would. Not because I wanted to hurt her, but because, if I complained, I might get a free comp night with an experienced drone. This was a thrilling fantasy, but a crummy reality. I threw her out, telling her to come back in a few hundred years after she had learned how to be a real woman!
Needless to say, I was not in a good mood when I returned to work, and my underlings were wise to let me alone as much as possible.
When I got the call to go up to the Administrative Office, I thought it was going to be about the girl. I was still hoping for a comp, but I deeply regretted the way I had treated her. I was so sure that that was why I was called that the rumors of so many techs going there and not returning, or returning with someone else in their body, never crossed my mind.
When I reported, I was whisked into a small room, with a silly looking man behind a desk. He looked up at me and smiled and said, "Ah! Please take a seat 8118."
I sat down and said, "Look. About that pleasure drone. I think I might have over-done the complaint. I hope you aren't going to punish her too much."
He shook his head, "Oh no! Not at all! Your complaint made us retest her. She was not really suited to that. she is going to be re-purposed as a technician. In fact, her being assigned to you seems very fortuitous!"
I was confused now. "Oh. Well, good, but, why am I hear sir?"
He smiled, "I know your clearance allows you to know our sad state in the galaxy." He shook his head, "But two things happened that have given us new hope." He pulled up a star chart, then zoomed in on a small section. "What you see here." He zoomed in far more, "Is a newly discovered worm hole. The biggest ever discovered."
I was not a scientist, so it didn't impress me. "Um, that is good sir." I had no idea why he would be excited over this. maybe half-a-million years ago that might have mattered. But the star drives of today made little of distances.
He grinned, "Yes, I know what you are thinking. However, this particular worm hole goes to another galaxy!" He grinned, "Ah! I see I have your attention now! Yes. A galaxy where humans are not know, and so, not hunted." He continued to fiddle with the controls, "And then there is this."
In on the edge of the hole, apparently trapped between its outer quantum ring and the tetrion verge, was a ship. A very large ship. As he zoomed in more, I gasped out, "A Miozone class battle cruiser!" It was thought that all had been destroyed thousands of years ago, at the beginning of 'The Fall'. They represented the height of imperial power. It was impressive to see. But the excitement quickly wore off. "I great discovery sir, but of little value. The technology is so out of date that, even a ship of that vaunted power in it's time wouldn't last a millisecond against our enemies today."
He grinned, "Indeed not. But that is not the plan" He sighed, "You see, our leadership has long known that we are stagnant. we cannot grow, so we cannot improve ourselves. This will change things. You see, the crew must have abandoned ship when it was obvious that it was going to be trapped. It is perfectly preserved, but completely empty. We intend to man, and um, woman, that ship with a full crew of ten-thousand. Our cloaked probes show that the other galaxy is well behind even that ship's technology. We intent to put select people on board, and send her through. Once there, the crew will find a suitable planet, and establish a colony. That ship will provide an adequate defense until they are able to establish their own defenses and build new ships."
I was confused, "But sir. If the other galaxy is so far behind ours, why not go there now, with what we have we could quickly establish a new empire in no time."
He shook his head, "No. We have realized too late that humans thrive on struggle. If we are going to succeed in the long run. The colony will need to struggle. Learn new ways to survive. Or perhaps rediscover old ones. We will not even send technology beyond that ship's level. And there will be no breeding pods." He saw my face, "Yes. The females will bear their young as was done a long time ago. And since it is to be a colony, three-quarters of the crew will be female. The need to populate the planet quickly will be paramount."
He stood up, "This is where you come in. Your expertise and experience will be needed. You have been selected for the crew."
I started to say, "Thank you sir. It will be an honor to..." I blacked out as I felt some kind of beam hit me. I had no idea how long I was out, but when I woke up, I was obviously on board the colony ship. indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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